Presea of the Flames
by XylimLinyx
Summary: I grew up with only my brother. He said mom and dad left a long time ago. I'm only six, and he's only ten, but he protects me from all the mean boys on our island. And then I find a boy floating on the water. Now my brother and the boy are going to make their own pirate crew. I wanna go with my brother, too! Ps- I don't own One Piece, just my OC. Not a yaoi
1. Chapter 1: Our Past

"B-brother?" my voiced quivered.

I could see him standing just off to the side, his back towards me. He was bent over. I took a few careful steps forward when he still didn't answer me.

"A-are you okay?"

His head turned slightly. I could see blood spattered across his face. I covered my mouth with my hand. _Was it his own blood? Did he get hurt because of me?!_ I fell to my knees and he moved quickly.

"Did that jerk hurt you?" he asked worriedly. His hands skimmed across my arms and face, checking for any wounds.

I shook my head. "D-did you get hurt? I asked with a sniffle.

He picked me up and gave me a hug. "No. It's his blood." He lightly set me on my feet and grabbed my hand. "Let's go home."

I clutched it tightly and followed him. He was my only sibling, my only family left. He got into fights a lot, but he always came home okay. A lot of the time, it was my fault. One of the boys would decide it would be fun to pick on me or to try something with me, but my brother would always be there for me. I loved him with all my heart, and I knew he cared about me a lot, too.

We stopped outside of a small house near the cliff. It was almost like a room in one of the other kid's houses, but it was our home. My brother said he found it one day for me. It was the best thing, in my eyes. We were away from the town that was so mean to him and me. And it was near the ocean. My brother wanted to become a pirate one day, but he said he would wait until I could find another family to live with. I still remember crying when I heard that. I wanted to stay with my brother, not get stuck with someone who didn't care about me.

He pulled me inside our house and I sat on our bed. He muttered something about going to the water to wash off, so I let him go alone. Sometimes my brother doesn't want to talk about what's bothering him. I laid on my side. I was only six years old and my brother was ten. The ladies in town would complain that my brother wasn't old enough to take care of me. They weren't very smart. My brother was the strongest boy in town.

I had almost fallen asleep by the time my brother came back. He laid next to me and pulled the blanket over us. "Goodnight," he whispered.

I moved closer to lay against his chest. "Night, brother…"

-the next day—

I woke slowly. When I saw my brother standing by the doorway, I got up quickly. He glanced at me before handing me a small fruit. "Here. Breakfast."

I gave him a hug and grabbed the fruit. He said it was an apple. It tasted good! I quickly finished it and stood next to him. He held his hand out for me to take, and we left when I did.

My brother likes to walk around for most of the day. That's another thing the ladies talk about. They would say it wasn't good for me to be out so much. I didn't understand- I was always healthy. I liked to be with my brother, so I walked with him. I never complained because I didn't want him to worry. When he worried, that's when other people would get hurt.

I tripped over a rock and he stopped to look at me. "I'm fine," I assured him. He nodded once before pulling me along again.

We stopped outside of the baker's shop when the sun was high. I think my brother said it was after lunch. I carefully knocked on the back door and waited for someone to answer. The baker was a really nice man. He told me I should visit him each day so he could give me a little food. He said it was the stuff that hadn't sold the day before and that he always kept it for me.

He opened the door and smiled when he saw me. "Here you go, little lady," he said as he handed me two buns.

I grinned and gave him a small hug before running over to my brother. He didn't like to ask people for food, but he would always eat the food I gave to him. Well, he did as long as he thought I had enough. He silently took one bun from me and we ate them. I sat on the ground next to my brother.

"What do you want," he growled.

I looked up to see two boys standing to the side of us. I moved behind my brother.

"We're here to make you pay us back for beating Ronny almost to death," one boy sneered.

I was scared. Ronny was the boy who was being mean to me yesterday. My brother hurt him for being mean. He glared at the two boys.

"He deserved it. No one touches my sister," he spat.

The boys looked like they were getting mad. I was shaking. My brother always told me he could take on anyone who went against him, but I didn't know if that meant he could take on more than one. The first boy ran forward and tried to punch him. My brother punched him just before he threw his punch. The other boy was circling around.

I felt a hand grab my arm and I screamed. My brother whipped around and glared at the one holding me.

"You'd better let her go now or I'll rip your hands off of her."

I pulled against the boy holding me, but he wouldn't let go.

"You shouldn't leave your back so open, child."

My brother growled again- he hated to be called a child. Everyone would back away from him when he growled. Even these boys seemed afraid of him. I looked back at the boy holding me. He looked older than my brother. I didn't want my brother to fight him, what if he got hurt?

"Let me go! You're making my brother mad!" I yelled at him.

He covered my mouth with his other hand. I frowned when he did this. I only ever let my brother come this close to me! I bit the boy's finger, making him curse. I could hear my brother laughing as the boy tried to pull his finger out of my mouth.

"That's what you get for messing with her. And now to what you'll get for messing with me."

The boy had let go of my arm to try get me off him, so I pushed myself away quickly. I knew my brother wanted me away from him so he wouldn't have to worry about me getting hurt. I saw the second boy still standing a little ways away. I didn't want them to catch me again, so I climbed up the tree next to me. My brother had taught me how to climb a long time ago. He said it was one of the safest spots.

I watched my brother punch the older boy, the second one trying to sneak up on him.

"Behind you!" I yelled.

My brother turned around in time to block the second boy and then fling him in front so the older boy punched his friend instead my brother. I laughed when I saw his face. The older boy was stunned while my brother was holding back a laugh. He finished both boys in just a few more punches, leaving them lying in the dirt.

He stopped at the bottom of the tree. "You can come down now," he said while holding his hands up to me.

I giggled and jumped down so he could catch me. He spun me around once before setting me on the ground. I gave him a tight hug. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the other side of town. He had a couple scratches and I wanted to get something for them. I left him outside once I told him I was going inside the medical store. The bell dinged as the door opened. The old lady looked over to see me and let out a sigh.

"Little Presea. Did your brother get into a fight again?" she sounded unsurprised.

"No, ma'am. The boys were being mean again and one of them grabbed me."

She let out another sigh and motioned me to come closer. "I think I have something here you can use. You're lucky I get some extra supplies in that you can use. Your brother uses up a lot."

I nodded. "Thank you, Mrs.J." I couldn't remember her last name; it was too long for me.

She glanced at me. "Just call me Ella, dearie." She patted my head and went back to looking for stuff. I heard a small "ah-ha!" and she passed me some bandages and a small bottle. "Careful with this, it cleans out the wounds. It'll sting a bit, but then the wounds will heal better. And don't use too much, it's expensive stuff to get in."

I squealed and gave her a hug. She smiled, returning it. "Thank you, Ella!" I ran out of the store.

I stopped when I got outside. My brother was leaning against the wall, looking across the street. I showed him the stuff I had gotten and he nodded, not really paying attention.

"Brother, are you okay?"

He shook his head as if to clear it. "Yeah, I'm fine." He glanced down at me before turning his back to me. "Hop on."

I laughed, jumping onto his back. He knew how much I loved getting a ride around town. I was smiling the whole ride back to our house. He set me down and walked inside. I stepped in to drop the stuff Ella gave me and then to grab a pot.

"I'm going to get water!" I yelled back as I ran down to the ocean.

I ran down the path that led to the ocean. I stopped at the edge of the water for a moment, staring. It was so pretty. I giggled and filled the pot with water and ran back up. My brother was sitting on the floor against the wall. I grabbed a rag and wet it, washing my brother's face and arms. He sat still- I always did this for him. When I was done, I dabbed a small bit of the liquid on his cuts. He hissed when I first touched him and I backed away, crying.

"I'm sorry!"

He pulled me back to him. "Don't be. I just wasn't expecting that." He slowly brushed my hair until I calmed down again.

I quickly finished with the liquid, afraid I would hurt him more if I was slower. I set everything in the box in the corner. My brother found it and said I could use it to keep my stuff in, so I always filled it with the leftover medical stuff and anything I found. I lightly brushed the little animal inside it. My brother told me mom had given it to me before she left. I pulled it out and sat against him.

He told me mom had white hair, that's why my hair was pink and his was red. He said dad's hair was red, too. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. My brother wasn't afraid of anything and he always stood up for me. He was a lot taller than me, too. He liked to joke that I would always be short. I believed him- he knew more than me.

I fell asleep against him, clutching the animal he said was called a teddy bear. He carried me to our bed and we slept again.

-the next day—

I woke up, but my brother wasn't there. I frowned a little. He was always here when I woke up. I looked down at my teddy bear. It used to be white, but it had gotten really dirty. I decided I would wash it so it was clean again.

I stepped out of our house and looked around. My brother still wasn't around. I walked down to the ocean, knowing he always looked here if I wasn't in our house. I skipped down the path and stopped at the edge of the water. I crouched down and tried to clean my teddy. I was really happy, it was actually getting clean!

I paused when I saw a small fruit float to me. It looked like flames. I picked it up and looked at it more carefully. _I wonder where it came from…_ I saw something dark float up a little ways down the shore. I let out a small scream before covering my mouth with my hand. It was a pale looking boy in black clothes.

I walked closer to him, afraid he would suddenly jump up. He had long blonde hair and a bad scratch across his face. He looked like he was hurt bad. I pulled him further out of the water, but he still didn't move. I placed my ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. _At least he's still alive._ I nodded to myself and pulled him further. I wanted to get him back to our house before he got sick.

I frowned. This was taking a long time. I only got him a little ways up the path and I was already getting tired. _I bet my brother could do this easily._ I tried harder, still wanting to be like my brother. If he could do it, then I would try until I could, too. The boy looked small enough to me, so I pulled him until he was sitting up against a rock. I thought I could get this to work better if I gave him a ride like my brother would give me.

He was heavier than he looked. I had his arms over my shoulders so I could keep him from falling off. He was still dragging on the ground, though. My brother was right about me being short. I had placed my teddy inside the boy's sweater, not wanting to leave it behind at the ocean. The fruit I found was sitting inside my own shirt. I had to show my brother later!

It took a long time, but I finally dragged the boy the rest of the way up the path. I still couldn't see my brother anywhere though. After a few more minutes, I had gotten the boy inside our house and laid him on the ground. I searched through my medical stuff, finding the sticky bandages and then the cleaning liquid.

The boy didn't move when I touched the liquid to his face. _Shouldn't he move if it's supposed to sting?_ I placed one of the sticky bandages on the scratch on his face after finished with the liquid. I put everything away and got my teddy back from the boy. I pulled off his sweater, too, hanging it on the edge of the door like I did when I washed one of my brother's sweaters.

I sat on the floor next to him, waiting for my brother to come back. I fell asleep leaning against the wall.

* * *

"Presea!"

I heard my brother calling my name. I got up quickly, rubbing my eyes. I stepped outside to see him walking from the forest.

"Where were you before? You disappeared for about an hour."

I gave him a hug when he got closer. "I went to the ocean to wash my teddy. He's white again!" He brushed my hair back when I looked up at him. "Oh! And I found a boy!"

He looked confused and worried. "You found him?"

I pulled him into the house and pointed at the boy sleeping on our floor. "See? He came on the water! And I brought him up here. Can he stay for now?"

My brother sighed and patted my head. "Yeah, I guess so. I didn't think someone could come on the water… He'll probably be asleep for a while, okay?"

I nodded and pulled him over to my box. "And I found this, too!"

I showed him the funny fruit I found. He looked closely at it and gave it back to me. "Don't eat it, it could be bad for you."

I set it carefully inside my box and turned back to him. My brother was watching the boy carefully. He suddenly tugged on my arm. "Let's go."

* * *

We walked around town again, but this time, no one tried to hurt me or my brother. I stopped back at the baker's again and this time he gave me three buns! I was really excited about that. My brother told me I should hold onto the third one for now, just in case the boy woke up. I held onto it with one hand, and then gripped my brother's hand in my other.

He took me back home when it started getting late. He said he wanted me to go to bed soon since I had to be tired from bringing the boy to our house. I agreed with him- he always knew better than me. I was starting to yawn when we reached the house. My brother stopped me when we were just outside the door. I could hear something moving around inside.

He pushed me to the side and slammed the door open. I peeked inside to see the boy standing in the corner. I jumped in and ran up to him.  
"You're awake, mister!" He looked warily at me, so I smiled. "My name's Presea and this is my brother! What's your name?"

He was silent and my brother pulled me a little further away from him. "What's your name, boy?" my brother asked angrily.

I looked between the two boys. My brother seemed to be getting angry.

"I- don't have one anymore. I got rid of it when I left my island."

I felt confused. _You can get rid of your name? But why would you want to?_ My brother seemed to be confused, too.

"Why did you get rid of it?"

The boy paused for a moment. "I killed them. The people from my island."

I felt my brother pull me behind him. "And how do I know if you'll try that on us?"

The boy took a step back. "I won't. Your sister must have saved me, and you have done nothing wrong to me. My people… they would take turns at hurting me."

I felt sad for the boy. He didn't have any family. I may not have my mom or dad, but I did have my brother. I slowly stepped out from behind my brother and walked closer to him. He froze against the wall and watched me carefully. I gave him a tight hug.

"Then you can be my other brother!"

I could hear my brother laughing behind me. "I guess she's decided. I suppose you'll be staying with us from now on."

I smiled and ran back to my brother, giving him a hug as well. "Can he really stay?" I asked excitedly.

He brushed my hair. "Yeah." He looked back at the boy. "What'll your name be, then? Pick one, killer."

The boy shifted his feet. "Killer, I guess."

My brother was laughing. "Sounds good, Killer." He held his hand out. "I'm Kid and I'm going to be the pirate who becomes the Pirate King."

I grinned when I heard him. That's what he always wanted to be, and I wanted to help him. "That means Killer can be your first mate!" I looked at him and he nodded. "Now you have one member!"

My brother laughed and gave me a hug. "Now I have two, you mean. I won't leave my little sister behind."

I loved when he would tell me that. I never wanted to leave my brother's side, no matter what happened.


	2. Chapter 2: My Present

I leaned against the wall in my room. It had been almost ten years since I had last seen my brother. And it was about three years since the last time he sent me a letter, too. I was now 17 years old and on my way to a new home.

When my brother left, I had stayed behind with the baker and Ella. Both of them took really good care of me, but it wasn't the same as my brother. They wouldn't fight the other boys when they bothered me or carry me around like he did. And they were always busy. I helped a lot at both the baker's shop and the medical supplies shop as I grew up, so I can cook and help people with their wounds.

I still would have preferred if I could have gone with both of my brothers.

-flashback—

"Brother! Killer Brother! Where are you?" I yelled into the forest.

They had gone in an hour ago and still hadn't come back. I started to walk in when I heard some voices.

"Did you see their faces when-"

"I know! And I can't believe-"

"It'll be tomorrow before they're found-"

I climbed into the nearest tree and watched a group of five boys walk by. They were talking about my brothers, they had to be.

I slid down the moment they were gone and ran into the woods. I could feel tears running down my face as I tried to find them.

"Brother! Killer Brother!"

I yelled louder and louder each time, but no one ever answered. I sat down under a massive oak tree and cried. _What if they hurt them? What if they can't get back home?_ I was terrified. My brother always told me he would be there for me and I didn't know what I would do if he wasn't. And he also always said I wasn't supposed to go into the forest because that's where the animals were.

I got up slowly, sniffling. I had to find them before it got dark. I ran further and further, never hearing anyone make a sound. I froze at the base of one tree and listened. I could have sworn I heard swearing.

And again! I spun around and ran in the direction of the voice. I broke through a clearing to see Killer cutting ropes that held his legs together and my brother brushing a bunch of ropes off of himself.

"Brother!" I ran forward and hugged him tightly.

"Wha- Presea! You aren't supposed to enter the forest!" my brother scolded me. He paused when he noticed me crying. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I heard those boys saying how you wouldn't be found until morning and I thought they hurt you!"

Killer walked closer to me and I hugged him, too. He brushed my hair lightly.

"They just thought they were so smart, setting a rope trap for us. It was easy to get out of. We're fine, so let's head back home, okay?"

I nodded at my brother's words. He must have said something to Killer, because I was set up on my brother's back. He carried me back home, only to freeze at the edge of the forest.

"O-our house!"

He sounded both sad and angry. I looked over his shoulder. Our house was on fire. It was burning brightly in front of us.

"No! Our home!" I could feel tears escaping again. "My box with my teddy's in there!" My brother quickly handed me to Killer and ran inside. "Brother!" I screamed after him.

Killer held me tightly so I couldn't run after him. I wanted down! _What if the fire burns him? What if he gets hurt in there?_ Killer hid my head against him. I wanted to run after him, but I couldn't.

"Kid."

I looked around when I heard Killer speak. My brother was walking slowly away from the flames, carrying my box filled with stuff. I squirmed and Killer set me down gently. I ran up to my brother, almost knocking him over with a hug.

"Are you okay? Please say you didn't get hurt!"

He lightly put the box down and looked me in the eye. "Nope," he said with a smile. "I'm perfectly fine."

I laughed, hugging him tighter. He picked me up, carrying me in front of him and Killer grabbed my box.

"What do we do now?" he asked quietly.

I looked at my brother, wanting to know the answer. He looked like he was thinking about Killer's question. All three of us had lived in that house together for a few years. Now, it was gone. And we didn't have anywhere else to go.

"Can we go see Ella?" I asked quietly.

My brother looked at me for a moment before nodding. Ella always seemed to know what to do. Maybe she could tell us. He continued to carry me to town, Killer bringing the box behind us. It was starting to get dark by now and I was afraid those boys would come back to hurt my brothers. Something soft was placed in my hands. I looked between my brother and my teddy.

He shrugged. "You said you were worried about him."

I held my teddy close as we reached Ella's door. I knocked softly, hoping she would answer me.

The door slowly opened. "Who could be visiting this late- oh? Hello, little Presea. What are you and your brothers doing here?" she looked questioningly at all of us.

"T-the boys burned down our house," I replied.

She looked mad when she heard me. "Did they? Well, those boys are just horrible to you sometimes." She gestured to us, "Come in, come in. You should stay here for the night."

-end flashback—

Ella had been so gracious to us to let all three of us stay the night. However, when I woke up in the morning, my brothers had already left. I stayed with Ella all day, not hearing anything from them. The next morning, though, some of the townspeople were banging on her door. They were yelling that my brothers had murdered their children. I was afraid they would come after me, too.

I hid behind Ella as she yelled back at the people. She was trying to defend us, saying that we were just kids and that their children were always trying to do horrible things to us. They told her they were banishing my brothers from the island before they left. She tried so hard to comfort me, but all I could think of was that I would never see my brothers again.

I found them the day after that. They were wandering on the edge of town, not allowed to enter. I cried and hugged them, saying the people had to be lying to me. But they hadn't. By the end of the week, my brothers were given a small boat and were told to never return. I had given my brother my teddy, telling him he had to hold onto it until he came back for me.

Then they were gone, and now here I am. I was being sent to some relatives of Ella's. She had passed away a month ago and the baker wasn't able to take care of me on his own. So now I'm on a Marine ship, heading to who-knows-where. It was insisted that I went on a Marine ship because there were a lot of pirates spotted in the area. I just wished some of those pirates were my brothers.

My door opened and one of the Marines walked in. "How are you doing?" he would always ask.

"Fine," I would always answer.

"So, who are you going to visit?" That was a new question.

"Relatives of one of the lady's from my island. Until my brother comes to get me."

"And who would your-"

There was a loud crash. The ship was rolling back and forth and I could barely keep my balance. I rammed my back into the wall, my bow and quiver digging into my skin. The Marine grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room. I could hear yelling and screaming coming from the deck. The Marine pushed me into a different room and told me to hide.

He left, shutting the door. I climbed into a barrel and set the lid on. I easily fit inside thanks to my short height. _My brother was right, I never did grow tall._ Everything stopped moving for a moment and there was silence. I didn't dare lift the lid yet.

"Look- here's some supplies for us."

"Yeah, I bet Captain would want these. Let's grab what we can and go."

Someone lifted my barrel. I held my hand over my mouth to make sure I kept silent. I could hear sounds of the battle get louder until I knew the screams were right next to me. It didn't bother me as much as it should have- I liked to watch my brother beat up the other boys.

Then the sounds got quieter. I realized we were moving away from it now. _I'm probably on the attacking pirates' ship._ I hadn't decided if that was a good thing or bad thing yet. I could probably hide myself for a couple days, and hopefully we'd be at the next island by then. If not, I could offer to be a temporary fighter or doctor until we do reach the next island. Maybe even a cook.

I was set down heavily, the impact jarring my spine. _You'd think they'd be more careful with supplies._ I sat up carefully in my barrel, listening for any sounds. I could vaguely hear lots of voices which were probably on the deck. I tried to listen to their voices for a few minutes, unsuccessfully. I wondered why they had attacked the Marines, or if it was just for fun.

"I'll grab one of the barrels from our new supply, then."

The voice was getting louder and my face turned white. _I'M in a barrel!_ The man tipped my barrel on the side, the top falling off and me rolling out. He looked shocked to see me. _I guess that's to be expected. How many people sit in barrels, anyway?_ He was a huge man that was wearing funny clothing and had stitches on his mouth.

The man sighed. "Captain's not going to like this."

He lifted me up and pushed me out of the room. _Rough handling…_ I was guessing he was either taking me to the deck or to the captain's room. Neither one sounded very good to me. That is, until I saw the deck.

We were still fairly deep inside the ship when I saw a long, blonde haired man with a mask walk by. _He looks familiar…_ And then he spoke.

"Oi, Kid."

I froze for a moment. _Did he say Kid?_ Before the man pushing me could say anything, I ran as fast as I could, reaching the deck in a moment. I saw a very tall, flame haired man standing with his back to me. I let out a squeal and ran forward, jumping on his back.

"Brother!"

He tried to look around at me. "What the hell- Presea?!"

I laughed. "I can't believe it was you who attacked the ship!" I looked around swiftly, spotting the blonde haired man.

I jumped off my brother and ran into him. "Killer!" I hugged him tightly.

The crew was silent as they watched me. Kid picked me up and set me on his shoulder so I was now taller than him.

"This is Presea. My sister," it sounded like he was warning them.

The crew seemed shocked. _He must not have told them about me._ I bent my arm and held my palm up. "They called me Presea of the Flames back at home," I said as a small flame appeared on my palm. They seemed even more shocked. I laughed, "Nice to meet you!"

They stared back at me for a few minutes. Kid looked up at me.

"Since when have you had a devil fruit power?"

I shrugged. "A couple years. You remember that one fiery one I showed you when I was little? I ate it!"

"Now we both have devil fruit powers," he smirked.

I laughed. I was so happy I found my brother again!

-flashback—

"Presea, dearie, you shouldn't hold onto that fruit forever. It'll go bad, you know."

"But Ella, it hasn't rotted or anything!"

I held it up to her face and she looked at it. "Maybe so, but I don't know how long it'll last. What is it anyways?"

"Um…" I tried to think of something. "I don't know. It washed up onto the shore a while ago."

"Then you should probably throw it out. It could be bad for you."

I held tighter to it. "No! It looks like my brother's hair! I'm not getting rid of it," I huffed.

She rolled her eyes at me. "I'm going to throw it out one of these days."

I ran up to my room and sat on the floor, cradling the fruit. I didn't want to get rid of it. I couldn't do it. And I wouldn't let Ella do it either. So, I opened my mouth and ate it.

It was spicy. I thought my mouth was on fire. I ran down the stairs and out into the rain. I tried letting the rain douse the fire in my mouth, but it wasn't working. I rubbed my hands together after a few minutes, trying to warm myself up in the cold rain. My hands sparked and a flame grew when I pulled them apart. I was amazed by what I could now do.

-end flashback—

I hopped off of my brother's shoulder and gave him another hug. "It's been so long… You haven't even written to me or anything in forever…"

He brushed my hair. _How I've missed that feeling…_ "I've been busy. You probably haven't been reading the papers, but I have a bounty. And a rather high one at that," he sounded proud.

"Good for you!"

We laughed before I turned back to Killer. "And you haven't written anything either, Killer Brother…"

He gave me a small hug. "You realize I'm on the same ship as him right? So that means I've been busy, too."

I smiled at him. "I know."

He let out a quiet chuckle. The men were still staring at me. I didn't like it, so I hid behind my brother.

"Why won't they stop staring?" I mumbled.

Kid looked at them and growled. They quickly moved, each one going to do some sort of job. He glanced down at me and I gave him a smile. _I can always count on my brother…_

"I see you haven't grown at all, Presea."

I looked down at myself. I was half my brother's size, but I did have curves at least. It was probably the only thing that let people know I wasn't a child; at least, that's what Ella said. I think she said it was a good thing. My pink hair had grown a bit though. I had it up in pigtails, spiked out to the side. I loved my hair, it was just like my brother's but it spiked out or down instead of up. "So? You always said I probably wouldn't grow very much, and you were always right."

Kid laughed at me. "Glad you think that way. Come here."

I stepped in front of him and he quickly grabbed me so I was being carried. I let out a squeak, making him laugh again. He walked inside of the ship, opening a door after a while. There was a big desk in the middle and two doors leading to other rooms inside of it. He walked us through one door, setting me down just inside.

"Look," he pointed at the large bed to me.

I walked closer and squealed, jumping onto the bed. _My teddy! He held onto my teddy!_ I hugged it closely to my body. I had missed it so much over the years and I was so happy to have it back.

"I kept my promise."

I got up from the bed and hugged him with one arm. "Thank you…"

He wiped a tear that slid down my face. "Come on, there's no reason to cry, little sister. Let's go back out there. My men should be making supper soon."

I ran ahead of my brother, always stopping to wait for him before running ahead again. When I reached the deck, I jumped onto Killer's back, making him stumble. I giggled and heard him sigh.

"What's up, Killer Brother?"

He turned his head towards me. "Can you use that bow?"

"Yup! Mister Baker taught me how!" I jumped off his back and walked to the end of the ship. I pulled my bow off my back and grabbed an arrow, loading the bow. When I had pulled it back to my ear, I let it loose, hitting the railing on the upper deck.

"Nice shot," Killer said, walking towards me. "Next time, turn your wrist a little more," he explained, showing me how I should hold it.

I agreed gladly. Killer knew even more than my brother did about weapons. I noticed my brother step onto the deck. I ran up to him. "Did you see? I can use a bow really good!"

Kid grinned, ruffling my hair. I smiled at him. _How I missed my brothers…_

-flashback—

"Presea!"

I heard the baker yelling from the back door of his shop. I dropped from the tree I was in and ran over to him. "Yes, sir?"

He rolled his eyes. "No sir, please. What were you doing in the trees again?"

"My brother said that's the best place to hide." Of course.

"I suppose that makes sense… It's better to stay inside though. It's more dangerous outside."

I blinked. "That's when the people set fire to your home though, so they can get you and your stuff at the same time."

He sighed. "People aren't supposed to burn houses down. But if you insist on staying outside, at least let me teach you how to use a weapon."

I quickly agreed. _I bet my brother would be proud of me if I could use a weapon!_ He decided to teach me how to use a bow since I loved the trees so much.

-end flashback—

"Brother," I began, "Where are we heading to?"

He looked at me. "The Grand Line is next. And since you'll be coming with us, you have to promise not to go wandering off on your own," he said with a smirk.

I gasped. _He's going to take me along?!_ I squealed, hugging him as harder as I could. He let out a laugh and hugged me back.

"I'm not going to leave my little sister behind again."

I buried my head against his stomach. After being apart for so long, it was amazing to hear him say that again. I had always been thinking about him, always dreaming about what he was doing or where he was going. I never really played with other children, though they didn't ever offer. To them, I was a freak.

All of the children knew about my brother and they didn't like him. I would yell at them whenever they spoke badly about him. And then I ate the devil fruit. People were afraid of my power for a long time. They still didn't really like it, but some of them had learned to accept it.

I looked up at him. "Hey, Brother," He grunted in response. "Do you have a cook on your ship?"

He looked down at me. "Yeah, why?"

"Can I help him cook?" I was jumping up and down.

He placed his hand on my head so I would stop moving. "Tell the cook I said you could."

I ran off with a laugh, following my nose to the kitchen.

* * *

"She looks almost the exact same. She even acts the same."

Killer stepped up to Kid after she had run off. Kid stared after her.

"Yeah," he said with a small smile.

* * *

I grabbed the doorway, almost falling over. _This smells like the kitchen!_ I stepped inside and interrupted the man working at the stove. "Excuse me," I said. He glanced at me. "My brother said I could help you."

"Who the hell are you?"

I grinned. _That sounds just like my brother._ "I'm Presea of the Flame. Kid's my brother!"

He dropped the potato he was peeling. "H-he's your WHAT?!"

I giggled. He seemed to be far too surprised to me. "My brother. I wanted to come help so he said I could."

The man's eyes were almost bulging. He continued to stare at me. I shifted my feet around, uncomfortable with his stares. Eventually he shook his head.

"I, um, I guess you can. Come over here then and start cutting up the potatoes I have peeled."

I grinned, doing the job I was given. I loved making food- Ella had liked it a lot and I hoped my brothers would, too! I had cut up all the potatoes, added some carrots, and then stirred the stew the cook was making. It smelled yummy, but it was missing something.

"Mister Cook," I began. He glanced at me. "Can I add something to this? It won't make it taste bad."

He looked at me a little bit longer before sighing and nodding. I searched through his cupboards until I found a row of spices. I chose the one that smelled just right, and then added a couple spoonfuls. The cook seemed a bit wary of me, so I held up a spoon of the liquid for him to taste. He acted so carefully, I had to stifle a giggle.

His eyes widened. "That tastes… pretty good," he eyed me carefully. "Where did you learn that?"

"Ella and Mister Baker helped teach me how to cook!" I span around once. "And that spice smelled just right, too!"

He frowned slightly, but agreed with me. He went back to his work. "Can you go get your, um, brother? Tell him supper's ready."

I ran out of the kitchen, heading for the deck. My brothers weren't there though. I tried to remember how to get to the room my brother showed me, but I couldn't. I got lost, wandering around the ship. The man with the stitched mouth walked by and I decided to stop him.

"Mister Crewmember!" He stopped to look at me. "Do you know where my brother is?"

He slowly walked back the way he came, ending at a doorway. "Here."

I gave him a hug. "Thank you Mister Crewmember!"

I stepped inside to see my brother sitting at the desk. I walked over to him, looking at the papers scattered across it.

He glanced at me. "Yes?"

"Mister Cook says supper's ready!" I grinned. "And I got Mister Crewmember to show me to your room 'cause I got lost," I pouted slightly.

He chuckled and stood up from his chair. "Think you can find your way back there?"

I thought for a moment before shaking my head. _I can't even remember which way I turned…_ He grabbed my hand and led me out of the room. I tried to memorize the way back, but I'm pretty sure I forgot again. He opened a large door that led into what he called the mess hall. There were long tables with stools stretching the length of the room. At the back, there was a counter and a door that I guessed led into the kitchen.

Mister Cook stepped through the door, setting the large pot on the counter and started dumping the stew into bowls. My brother walked us up to the front, grabbing a bowl for himself. I carefully picked one and sat down next to him at the head of a table. Killer Brother sat down on the other side with a bowl of stew, too.

I grinned. _I hope they like it just like Mister Cook did._ I started eating my food, waiting to see what my brothers thought. _Yum! I wonder if Ella would have liked this, too._ When I was done, I pushed my bowl a little further ahead of me and waited for my brothers to finish.

"Did you like it?" I asked excitedly when they were done.

Kid looked at me and set his hand on my head. "It was good."

I grinned when Killer agreed. _Yay! My brothers liked it!_ I got up and carried all three of our bowls to the back, setting them in the sink. Ella always wanted me to do that for her. When I stepped back into the mess hall, the crew were looking uncomfortable and my brother was growling. _I wonder what they did…_

I saw the man who helped me find my brother's room. "Mister Crewmember! Thank you for helping me!" He looked confused. I looked at my brother. "This is Mister Crewmember!"

Kid smirked at me. "No, his name's Heat."

"Oh… Sorry Mister Heat."

My brother laughed. "Just Heat, Presea. We don't use 'Mister' here."

I nodded and sat back down next to my brother. I was starting to get tired; I could feel my eyelids getting heavy. I could hear my brother not quite holding back his chuckles.

"Tired?" I nodded. "Come on then."

He picked me up out of my chair and carried me out of the room. We went back to his room and he set me down on the bed.

"Brother," I mumbled. "Are you going to stay here, too?"

I felt the bed sag as he sat down next to me. He laid on his side so he was facing me.

"Does this answer your question?"

I snuggled closer to his body. "Goodnight, Brother."

* * *

Extras:

.log- I didn't mean to make you cry… I didn't realize it was that sad. I hope this chapter was a lot happier for you!

Shiningheart of ThunderClan- I'll have the answer to what happened with their parents soon! And I'm not sure how I ended up making Kid give Killer his name. It just made more sense than Killer choosing the name for himself.


	3. Chapter 3: My First Fight!

It was dark when I woke up. Well, I thought it was until I pulled back the black curtain that covered a small window. It looked like the sun was fairly high in the sky, so it was probably only a couple hours until lunch. I turned back to the bed to see my brother still sleeping. I giggled to myself. _I thought he used to wake up before me before._ I crawled back onto the bed and sat down, facing him.

"Brother…"

He grumbled in his sleep. I covered my mouth to stay quiet.

"Brother… It's getting closer to lunch time."

He opened one eye and closed it again. "I should've let you sleep with Killer… I don't get up early, Presea."

I tilted my head. "You used to always get up first, though."

I could see a small smirk on his face. "But now I'm Captain, so I can do whatever I want and my men have to follow my orders."

"Is that why they were looking afraid last night?"

He opened one eye and sighed. He pulled himself up so he was sitting. "I told them they had better not try touching my little sister or they'd find themselves cut up into a million bloody pieces," he said with a hard voice.

That didn't make any sense to me. "Touching? Does that mean I can't give them hugs anymore?"

Kid looked shocked at my words. "No… I mean… you know. Like sexually."

I felt my face turn a little red. "Oh. Like when a man and a woman like each other?"

He groaned and covered his eyes. "Why am I having this conversation with my sister…?" he grumbled to himself. "That's part of it. Did that lady not ever talk to you about men and women?"

I thought about that. "Um… Not really. She told me she'd tell me some other day. She said there was no point since I wouldn't play with any of the other children."

He looked questioningly at me. I blinked a coupled times before saying, "They would always say bad things about you, so I yelled at them. Then their parents wanted me to stay away after I hit one girl."

My brother laughed hard. "Why did you do that?"

I frowned. "She said you'd never come back for me. She would always say that you had probably got attacked by Marines and you could have died. So I punched her."

"If you didn't do that, then I would have," he ruffled my hair. "Way to go, little sister."

I looked up at him. "So does that mean you have to tell me about it?"

Kid groaned again, falling back to lie on the bed.

"He also means touching in any way that would be deemed inappropriate."

"Killer!" I jumped off the bed and hugged him. "What do you mean by inappropriate?"

He sighed. "Touching a part of your body that should not be, especially by the men on our ship."

"Oh…" I had the idea now!

Kid sat up on the bed again. "She's sleeping with you next time so I can sleep in," he grumbled.

I giggled and then stopped when I thought of something. "But if both you and Killer want to sleep in, does that mean I have to sleep with one of the other men?"

My brother looked like he was getting mad as he thought about that. "You aren't allowed to sleep with anyone else," he snapped.

I nodded. _My brother knows best._ "Then I won't," I said with a smile.

He stood up slowly and we walked out to the other room. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair and slipped it on. I wondered what it would be like if I wore the jacket. I stifled a giggle. _Half of it would be dragging on the floor!_ We all walked back to the mess hall for food when I asked if we were going to eat breakfast while we still could.

I sat down in the same seat as yesterday, my brothers taking their usual spots as well. We got to eat eggs! Killer said we must have got them off of the Marine ship since he was pretty sure we didn't have them before. _I'll have to remember to tell Mister Cook that breakfast was good!_ I took our plates to the back again, setting them in the sink. There were two men here washing and drying the dishes.

"Where's Mister Cook?"

They glanced at me before pointing to a corner hidden by a large cupboard. When I ran over, Mister Cook was digging through the packages stacked on the shelves.

"Mister Cook?" He grunted, so I continued. "Breakfast was really good!" He grunted again. I tried to look around him. "What are you looking for?"

He stood back up and stretched his back. "A bag of flour. Some idiot decided to move it from its spot," he growled.

"Can I look for it?"

He nodded, moving out of the way. I climbed up to the third shelf, since I liked to start at the middle and work out from it. I felt a hand against my back. "Thank you Mister Cook!"

I didn't need to worry about falling if Mister Cook was helping hold me up. I made it up to the fourth shelf before noticing a small package hidden in the back corner. I couldn't quite reach it. I frowned, stretching my arm as far as I could. I grabbed it, but when I did, my feet slipped and I fell. Mister Cook grabbed me before I could fall, setting me carefully on my feet. I passed the package to him with a smile.

"Thanks, kiddo," he said, ruffling powder from my hair.

I grinned. _Now I have a nickname just like my brother's name!_ I skipped out of the kitchen after dusting some of the powder off my clothes. My brother and Killer gave me a weird look when I sat back down, but they didn't say anything.

A man ran into the room. "Marines coming in from the south," he panted before running back out.

My brothers stood up and walked to the doorway. "Can I help?" I yelled over the sudden noise.

My brother looked back at me for a moment. He smirked. "Heat. Take her back to my room and get her weapon. Make sure nothing happens to her."

I squealed. I grabbed Heat's hand and pulled him into the hallway. From there, he pulled me to my brother's room. _I hope I can remember how to get back here soon._ I ran in the door when we reached it. My bow and arrows were lying against my brother's desk, just like they were waiting for me.

I strapped my quiver to my back, turning back to Heat. "Let's go!"

We walked back out to the deck, stopping just outside. I was surprised by how many Marines there were. _I wonder how they find pirate ships._

"Little girl!"

I looked around, finding the man who yelled that. It was the Marine who would always ask me questions on the other ship. He was standing near the railing on the other side.

"Hurry! If you come over here, we can rescue from these pirates!"

"Why would I want to do that? I just found my brother."

I didn't think the man was very smart. Then my brother walked up to him. I smiled at him. The Marine looked terrified now.

"No one's allowed to touch my sister or to try take her away again."

He raised his hand, purple sparks firing from his fingers. A sword shot out from behind him and impaled the Marine. I clapped my hands. _His power's so cool!_ I climbed up to the second level, remembering that higher levels were safer. I loaded my bow and sat quietly, waiting for a target. I shot at a man trying to hit one of the crew members from the side.

I continued to fire my arrows, one after another. I was taking down lots of men, or t least making them stop so that the crew could take them out. Then I noticed one man trying to attack my brother from behind. I frowned deeply. _No one tries to hurt my brother!_

I readied another arrow, this time setting the tip alight with my powers. I fired before the man could raise his sword. I heard his scream when the arrow hit him shoulder and started burning him. I giggled. "That's what you get for trying to hurt my brother!"

I heard a roar and turned my head. Flames shot past me, engulfing the man who tried to attack me. I looked at Heat as he closed his mouth. "That was so cool!" I was jumping up and down.

The Marines were defeated quickly and the bodies were being thrown in the water. My brother walked up to the base of the upper deck. He raised his arms up to me with a smirk. I laughed, jumping down so he would catch me.

"Did you see how I did?" I asked excitedly.

He grinned. "Of course. You did pretty good, little sister." Then he frowned. "But you need to watch out for other enemies, too. That one Marine would have got you if Heat wasn't there."

I nodded sadly. I knew he was just trying to protect me. "I'll be more careful next time."

He set me on the ground and held my hand as we walked back inside. I looked behind us, watching the crew throw the Marine bodies in the water.

* * *

Killer stared after his captain and sister. Heat watched them as well, confusion plain on his face.

"She acts so innocent, but she was clapping when Captain killed that Marine."

Killer smirked under his mask. "She's different. Anything her brother does is amazing to her."

Heat shook him head and walked away. "She's so innocent, and yet not at all."

* * *

"What are we doing now, Brother?"

Kid sighed. He was lying on the bed and I was sitting next to him. "I don't know. Go ask Heat or the cook for something to do."

I smiled and ran out of the room. _He probably just wants to sleep since I woke him up early._ I paused at the end of the hallway. _Now, I think I turn right…?_ I continued down the new hallway, pausing at each turn to decide which way to go. I eventually ended back up at the mess hall. _I found it!_

Heat was sitting in one of the stools, so I skipped up to him. "Heat!"

He looked up at me. "Yes?"

"Can we do something?"

He stared back at me. "Like what?"

I thought for a moment. "Can we go on deck? I want to see your fire breath again!"

He slowly stood up and walked out of the room. I grabbed his hand, walking next to him. I smiled when he looked down at me. _I always like to hold my brother's hand when I walk._ When we reached the deck, I pulled his arm until we were standing in the center.

"Can you show me now?" I asked, jumping up and down.

He opened his mouth and flames shot out. I laughed and reached out to touch them. He shut his mouth quickly, stopping the flames. I frowned when I looked at him.

"You'll get burned."

I held my hand out and I made a small fire appear on my palm. "I won't get burned. See?"

He crossed his arms, refusing to use his flames again. I sat down on the deck and crossed my arms, too. We just stared at each other for a while, neither side making a sound.

I jumped up when Killer walked onto the deck. "Killer Brother!" I ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Heat won't let me touch the flames."

He glanced at Heat and looked down at me. "You'll get burned."

I frowned. "But my power will keep me safe!"

He still shook his head. I sighed and moved so I was away from everyone else and sat down again. I let the fire in my hand grow so it was much taller. Then I made it small like a ball, bouncing it back and forth between my hands. I squished the fire, making it disappear.

I placed my hands straight out in front of me, one behind the other. I tried to push the fire out like how Heat could breathe fire. It worked for a little bit, but it wasn't very big or went very far. I got tired from using the power a lot. I squished it again, setting my hands down.

"Getting tired?" Killer said as he walked up to me.

I nodded and held my arms up. He picked me up and held me against his chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning my forehead against him. "Can I use the shower, Killer Brother?"

He nodded and started walking back into the ship. "You might as well use Kid's. I don't think he would mind. He'd probably actually prefer it."

I let him carry me back to my brother's room. He knocked on the door before opening it. I wondered if I was supposed to do that, too. My brother was sitting at his desk, looking at papers again. Killer set me down on the ground.

"She wants to use your shower."

Kid glanced up at us, grunting in affirmation. I smiled and walked to the second door. "Um, is there a towel in here?" My brother nodded. I looked at Killer, "What should I wear when I come out?"

There was silence. "I'll grab one of my shirts then." He paused before leaving. "You should wash those clothes, so you can wear them again later."

I nodded, entering my brother's shower after Killer left. The room was bigger than I thought it would be, with plenty of room for moving around. I found the towels after a bit; they were large black ones that would easily cover my body. I climbed into the shower, glad that there wasn't a tub I had to climb into. And I was also glad that the handle wasn't too high up.

I turned the water on so it was warm. I smiled, the warmth making me feel better. _I've been so lucky. I found both of my brothers, and they even want me to come along when they go to the Grand Line!_ I was happier than I had been for a long time. I still remember when I was sad for a few days after Ella had told me about our parents.

-flashback—

"Ella, where did my parents go?"

She looked at me, her mouth open in shock. "W-what do you mean? Hasn't your brother told you?"

I shook my head. "He said hey left, but he'd never tell me where they went. Maybe he didn't want me to leave him to go looking."

She closed her mouth. Her eyes looked so sad. "Come here, little Presea." I climbed up onto her lap. "Your parents… They were always supportive of the Marines. Your father was one, of course. He would leave your mother here for weeks at a time on her own. Even when she had Kid to take care of, he wouldn't be around very often. However," her voice turned grave, "he decided to come back for when you were born. Your mother was ecstatic. Your brother, not so much. He thought your father was just hurting her."

"And I bet he thought the same would happen to you. So your brother was always nearby. He was there when you were born; he got to see you smile for the first time. I know he loved you with all his heart." A tear fell down her face. "But then the Marines told your father he had to go back to work. He refused. Three of them came in, crashing through the front door. Your brother had grabbed you from your crib and ran into the forest behind your house. He was afraid of the Marines, and it was a good thing he was."

Ella paused for a moment, trying to calm herself down. She continued when she was ready. "The Marines were mad with your father. Apparently he hadn't done something right on one of his missions, so they believed he had turned on them. They shot him." I gasped. "And when your mother ran to help him, they shot her, too… Y-your parents were attacked by the Marines. And the only reason you lived, was because your brother had ran with you out of the house. You were only a few weeks old…" she whispered.

I hugged her and she took a shuddering breath. "He brought you here, you know. Your brother wanted me to keep checking on you to make sure you were okay. And every day, he would walk back out of my store, disappearing until the next. I don't think you went by one day without being in your brother's arms. I couldn't convince him to leave you with me, but I was able to get him to sleep at my house when the days got colder. He would bundle you tightly so you wouldn't catch a cold and then he'd hold you close to make sure the wind would stay away from you."

"I know the other children around town are not nice to either of you, but I always knew you two would make it through okay. I stood up for you the most out of all the adults, since he had only told me what had happened. I know- if you look back on everything that has happened, you'll see he was always nearby. And I hope- you know that he wasn't trying to lie to you. He just wanted to protect you."

Then she broke down in tears.

-end flashback—

My brother hadn't lied to me. They did leave, just in a different way. _I guess what Ella told me explains why he would never talk about our parents much, or why he didn't seem to like dad. I wonder how different everything would be if they were still alive…_

I shut off the shower and wrapped the towel around me. I had washed my clothes while I remembered Ella's words to me. _I guess… Ella was like my mom, wasn't she?_ I shook my head lightly. There was no point dwelling on sad memories. Ella told me I should try to be happy as much I can, so I try to be. Just for her.

I put on my under clothes and then looked around for the shirt Killer said he was going to leave me. I saw it placed on the floor against the door, and I grabbed it quickly. I put it on and did up the buttons, but it was huge. It went past my knees and the sleeves completely covered my hands. I hung my wet clothes up on a metal bar that was just low enough for me to reach. After drying my hair with the towel a couple more times, I walked out of the shower room into my brother's office.

He was still looking at papers. I tried to look at them, but I didn't understand what they were. I could hear a snort. I looked at my brother to see him holding a hand over his mouth. "Killer's shirt is far too big for you," he laughed.

I smiled back at him. "I know." I looked back at the papers. "Brother, what are these for?"

He picked me up and set me on his knee. "They're bounty posters. I've been keeping track of a few of the pirates with bounties. Like this boy," he said, pointing to one paper. "Monkey D. Luffy. His bounty has been continually raised. And this one," he said pointing to the one on the corner of the desk. "Trafalgar Law. The Surgeon of Death." My brother frowned. "He's supposed to like playing with his opponents. I want you to learn about them and promise to avoid them if you can."

I nodded. "Okay." If my brother said I should stay away from these people, then I would have to.

The door opened and Killer walked in with a tray. "I thought you'd want her to stay in here until her clothes dry some."

Kid nodded. He cleared some of the papers out of the way so the tray could be set in front of us. Mister Cook had made sandwiches for us! I hadn't had sandwiches since before Ella had died. Mister Baker didn't make them; he had other stuff instead.

I ate mine quickly, hungry after playing around with my powers before. I leaned against my brother's chest as he finished the last of his food. I would have to remember to tell Mister Cook that supper was good. I let out a yawn and turned so I could bury my head against him. It must have been getting late. I wanted to go to bed.

I was picked up from behind. "Want me to take her to my room, Kid?"

"Yeah." I turned to look at my brother before I left. He lightly patted my head. "Goodnight, Presea."

"Goodnight, Brother…"

Killer carried me to his room, careful to keep his shirt from lifting up on me. His room wasn't very far from my brother's, but I wasn't paying attention to which way we turned. I heard the door close behind us just before I was set on the bed.

"Killer…?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Yes?"

"Are you staying here?"

I felt him sit on the bed. "If I go anywhere, it'll only be for a little bit. I'll come back."

I wrapped my arms around his middle. "Don't go…"

I heard a quiet sigh. He pulled my arms off of him and moved me so I was lying down. He brushed my hair softly. "Go to sleep…"

"Goodnight… Killer Brother…"


	4. Chapter 4: The New Island!

I walked down a long, curvy path, not sure where I was going. There was a small clearing that was surrounded by mist nearby. _I wonder what this is…_ I stepped to the edge, listening to the children I could hear playing within it.

"Your brother's stupid. He probably planned to leave you here. I bet he went and got himself caught by the Marines and-"

A tiny girl punched the girl taunting her. "Shut up! My brother would never do that to me! He's better than your brothers who just went around hurting people for fun! I bet your brothers would be the ones to leave you behind!" She jumped on top of the fallen girl, hitting her.

I smirked. _So that's what it looked like when I hit her._ I saw Ella run up. "Little Presea!" she gasped. She pulled the smaller me away, scolding her the whole time. "Hitting is not very nice! You shouldn't go around doing that to people!"

She was almost crying. "But she was saying mean things about my brother! She said he'd never come back for me!"

She knelt in front of the young me. "You know that's not true. He made a promise to you and your brother never breaks his promises, right?" she asked, patting her head.

The girl rubbed her eyes and smiled. "Right!"

I walked away from the clearing. _Ella helped me a lot then, didn't she?_ I walked further down the path, stopping at a different clearing. _I wonder what's in this one._ I crouched in the tall grass surrounding it and looked at the two children inside.

"Killer Brother!" the little girl danced up to him. "I wanna see if your scratch healed!" The younger me reached my arms up to him.

He crouched down, his hair covering his eyes. I pulled the bandage off his cheek and frowned. "It didn't heal right… Killer Brother, there's still a mark there."

I could see it clearly from where I was sitting. It stretched across his right cheek, jagged and red. _Is that why he wears a mask now?_

"Killer Brother, how did you get hurt?"

"One of the people from my village attacked me when I tried to run away. He sliced open my skin with a small axe, and that's when I fought back against everyone."

The small girl looked sad. "Oh…" Then her face brightened. "But now that you're here, you don't have to worry! Me and Brother will always be here for you!"

I could see a small smile on his face. "Yeah."

I stood up from the grass and walked away. _Killer Brother must have been lonely before he came here. I wonder how hard his life was before we met…_ I stopped at a third clearing. _Where am I that all these memories keep showing up? Would this be a good one, too?_ I hid behind a tree and watched.

"Get out of here, you stupid boy!" one little boy said, chasing after a blonde one.

My eyes widened. _Killer Brother…_ He was breathing heavily and trying to get away from the boys chasing after him. I hadn't seen this before, not this far back. He tripped on something and stumbled into a tree. I wanted to run to him, but my legs were frozen to the spot.

The tallest boy stepped forward. "You scum," he spat on the ground. "You got that scar from killing people! You should be run out of town before you turn on us, too!"

The boys behind him yelled in agreement. I could feel tears running down my face. _Why were they so mean to Killer Brother?!_ They were slowly moving closer to him.

"Stop!" a little voice yelled. It was a younger me, standing with my arms raised in front of him. "You can't hurt my brothers!"

The tallest boy shoved the girl away. She fell on her hands, scraping them. I saw her shakily get back on her feet and jump in the way again.

"Don't you dare hurt Killer Brother!" she screamed.

The boy grabbed her and threw her behind him, one of the other boys picking her up.

"Brother! Killer Brother!" she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

The boy who was holding her covered her mouth with his hand. "Shut up, stupid girl! You should have to leave, too!"

_They… said that to me?_ I didn't even remember that. I whipped my head around at a growl.

"What are you doing to my sister?" a shorter Kid hissed as he stepped out. He glanced over at Killer and growled deeper. "I said, what are you doing to her?!"

He dashed forward, punching the tallest boy and then turning on the rest. The boy holding the young me stepped away from Kid's flailing fists. The rest of the boys had been pummeled and were lying unconscious in the grass. Kid turned back to the boy holding me.

"You'd better let her go."

The boy laughed nervously. "You can't do anything to me, not as long as I hold her!"

The girl looked at her brother and then the boy. "Of course he can. If you doing anything to me, he'll just hurt you worse," she grinned.

Kid had an evil smile on his face. "Exactly. So you'd better let her go before I have to kill you."

The boy tightened his hold on her. She looked like she was pouting for a moment. Then she bent her head down and bit him. I held back a laugh. _Biting works really well!_ The boy dropped her quickly and she ran up a tree. Kid was looking even angrier now.

"Time for your punishment."

The little girl grinned as she watched her brother beat the boy. She even clapped when he was done. Her brother smirked when he looked up at her.

He raised his arms. "You can come down now."

She giggled before dropping into his arms. He set her down carefully and she ran over to Killer.

"Killer Brother… Are you okay?" she looked really worried.

He slowly got up and brushed his pants off. "Yeah. Thanks for coming to help me," he said, brushing her hair back.

She smiled and gave him a hug. Kid grabbed her hands when she pulled away. He was frowning.

"What happened to your hands?"

She looked at them. "They pushed me and I fell."

He growled softly. "Come on. Let's go back home so we can find some bandages for you."

She raised her arms. Killer picked her up and carried her back. _It was one of the few times Killer Brother carried me instead of Brother…_ I slowly walked away from the clearing. I felt a little tired. I sat down in a small clump of grass and curled up. _Just a quick nap…_

* * *

I opened my eyes and sat up. _Oh, so that was a dream?_ I stretched my arms. I blinked when I noticed I was alone. _Did Killer Brother get up already?_ I climbed out of the bed and walked to the door. It opened quietly as I poked my head out to look down the hallway. No one was coming from either direction.

I puckered my brow. _Where did he go?_ I stepped out and shut the door behind me. _I think I'm supposed to go this way and then turn right at the end…_ I walked quietly down the hallway, my feet padding softly. I stopped at the end and looked around again. I wasn't exactly sure where I was now.

I continued down the way I thought I was supposed to go. I ended up at a dead end. I turned around and tried a different direction. _I think I'm lost…_ I noticed the man that helped me last time. I ran after him. "Mister Crewmember!" He stopped and looked down at me. "Oh, um, I meant Heat!"

He continued to look at me. "Do you need something, Miss Presea?"

I giggled at his words. "I'm not Miss. Ella called me little Presea, though. Do you know where Killer Brother is? I can't find him anywhere…"

He held out his hand to me. _He remembered!_ I grabbed his hand and he walked the way he was going. I tripped a couple times; Killer's shirt was too long on me. The third time, I fell to my knees. I let go of Heat's hand and crossed my arms. I was getting unhappy with tripping so much. I heard him sigh quietly.

"Do you want me to carry you?"

I smiled and held up my arms. He lifted me up and held me with one arm. I was grinning the whole way to the mess hall. Killer looked up when we entered the room. "Killer Brother!"

Heat carefully set me down and I ran up to him. I almost fell once, but I managed to make it up to Killer.

"Where'd you go, Killer? I couldn't find you."

He picked me up and set me on his lap. "I told you I would come back if I ever left. I was just about to go back to my room." He glanced at Heat. "Why were you carrying her?"

He shrugged. "She was tripping a lot."

I looked between them before staring up at Killer. "Can I eat something before you go?"

He sighed, but agreed. I clapped my hands, happy I could eat now. Heat set a plate in front of me and I smiled at him. He nodded and then left the hall. I tried to grab my fork, but Killer grabbed my hand. He started rolling up the sleeves so they wouldn't drag in the food. I looked up at him and smiled. _He used to always do that for me._

-flashback—

Kid was pacing in front of the door. "We have to do something to get back at them or else they'll be laughing their heads off at us," he growled.

I was sitting on our bed and watching him. Killer was leaning against the wall next to me.

"We should wait another day. Perhaps they'll drop their guard then," Killer suggested.

I grabbed one of the fruits my brother called an apple when Killer grabbed my hand. He rolled up the sleeves that hid the scratches on my hands. I hated looking at them, so I wore long sleeves until they would heal. I stuck out my tongue at him, but he had a small smile on his face. I grinned when I saw it.

He released my hands so I could eat again. He leaned back against the wall, listening to my brother.

"That won't work," he growled. "We'll just have to lead them out here so they won't be pretending to cower behind their parents."

I looked up at him. "Can I help?"

My brother didn't seem to like that idea. "They could hurt you, Presea."

I shook my head. "I can run fast! And I'll climb the trees when they start to catch up."

A smirk started to grow on Kid. "Yeah… That could work." He turned to Killer. "She can lead them off to the forest, where I'll be waiting. And you can follow them to make sure she doesn't get hurt."

Killer nodded. My brother walked up to me and ruffled my hair. "Just be careful, alright?"

I nodded with a smile. "Alright!"

-end flashback—

I grabbed my fork and started to eat. Mister Cook had made pancakes! Mister Baker had liked to make pancakes when I was with him. I grinned. Mister Cook's pancakes were better though. I ate almost all of it, but then I started getting too full. I pushed the plate away slightly.

I looked at Killer. "Killer Brother, do you want the last of my pancake?" He thought about it for a moment. "You should eat it so it doesn't get wasted," I interrupted.

He sighed and pulled off his helmet. I clapped my hands gleefully. He grabbed the fork I had used and ate the last two little pieces. I remembered my dream about his scar and I wondered if he still had it. He had placed his helmet back on before I could check, though. He picked me up with one arm and the plate with his other hand. He set it on the counter before walking out of the hall.

I wrapped my arms around his neck so I could play with his hair. It was soft, just like my brother's. I liked their hair. I giggled when he removed one of my hands from his hair. _I wonder why they don't like me playing with their hair, but they like to brush their hands through mine?_

We walked down the same hallway Heat brought me, so I tried to memorize part of the way back. I'm pretty sure I forgot though. He stopped at his door and set me down. I opened it up for us and then closed it behind him.

Killer sat on the bed. "Killer Brother," I started. I wasn't sure how he'd answer when I asked. "Can- can I see your scar?"

It was silent for a moment. I was afraid I made him mad until he lifted his arms. He slowly pulled the helmet off and set it to the side. I walked up to him, stopping when I reached his knees. I carefully lifted my hand to brush the scar. It hadn't changed at all. It was still long and jagged. I felt sorry for him. _Because people were mean to Killer Brother, he has to wear the mask now…_ I gave him a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled against him.

He rubbed my back and set me on his lap again. "You don't have to be. You tried to help it heal. I bet if you hadn't helped, it would be even worse."

I looked up at him. "You think so?"

He nodded. "I do."

I smiled and buried my head against him. I wanted Killer Brother to only have happy thoughts about the three of us when we were little. Then maybe he wouldn't remember about his old island.

"Now," he said, "we should be reaching a new island soon and I think it would be best if you wore your own clothes instead of my shirt.

I looked down at myself and giggled. "Then I wouldn't trip when I walked."

He smiled and kissed the top of my head. I hugged him in return. I saw him pick up his helmet and place it back on his head, and then he picked me up. I let out a squeal and he laughed. He carried me to my brother's room where my clothes had been hung up.

I knocked on my brother's door, but no one answered. I frowned and looked up at Killer.

"Perhaps he already got up."

I looked back at the door. "Can we still go in? My clothes are in his bathroom."

He didn't seem to think it was a good idea. I struggled so he would put me down and then ran into the room. I heard him start to protest as I shut the door behind me. It was quiet in here, but I could hear water running. I slowly opened the door to the shower room.

"Brother?" I yelled, stepping inside. "Are my clothes still in here?"

The water shut off and he walked out wearing a towel around his waist. "Presea! You shouldn't enter if I don't answer," he scolded.

"I know, but Killer Brother said we'd be at an island soon so I had to get my clothes."

He sighed. "I moved them to the other corner." I tried to run, but he grabbed my wrist. "Don't run. You could slip and fall."

I nodded and walked more carefully. I got to where he had told me; I pouted. "Brother! You put them too high up!"

I could hear him chuckling. "One second and I'll come get them for you."

He walked over, wearing his pants now. He reached my stuff easily. _That's not fair… Why can my brothers get everything when I can't?_ He handed them to me with a smirk. I grabbed them quickly and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Brother!"

I walked back out of the shower room and then into his bedroom so I could change. I pulled my shirt on and then my shorts. Ella always told me that my shorts were almost pants since I was so short. I had to agree with her though; my shorts went past my knees. But I liked it better this way. I folded up Killer's shirt and walked back out to find him.

He was leaning against the wall next to the door. I smiled up at him, but he didn't seem very happy. "You shouldn't have done that, Presea. Next time you have to wait."

"Okay, Killer Brother." I would have to listen to them. My brothers always knew best.

Kid stepped out a few moments after me. He looked at both of us. "Shall we watch the ship dock?" he asked with a smirk.

I jumped up and down, nodding quickly. He laughed and grabbed my hand.

* * *

Killer watched them start walking. He could remember all of the boys taunting words when they were still little. _"I bet you're jealous 'cause they'll never really accept you." "Why don't you take the girl and kill her brother? Then you'll be her only brother." "I'm surprised you haven't killed either of them yet. They must cut you out of everything they do."_

They were always wrong though. Presea treated him the same as her real brother. She even went out of her way to make sure he was going to be with them. She would always look so sad as if she expected him to say he was leaving. And every time, she would smile when he started to follow. And Kid included him, as well. He was someone to help fight the boys who would hurt his sister and someone who would understand their situation. He even told him a little about their parents.

"_Look. I never told my sister what happened. She thinks they just left and I don't want her to be afraid that the Marines would come back for her. So keep it to yourself. Only you and that lady in town know anything about it."_

Killer would keep his word until he died. It was likely that she had learned of it from the woman though. She was happy though, and that's all that mattered. He could see why Kid protected her so strongly. She would smile every time she got to see her brother. She was almost like his reason to fight back.

And Killer knew he would fight just as hard for her. After that thought, he followed the two siblings out onto the deck.

* * *

I looked back to see Killer step on the deck. "Killer Brother!" I ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Why weren't you following us?"

He brushed my hair. "I was following; you were just running too fast."

I grinned and pulled him up to my brother. I walked up so I was against the railing and stood on my tiptoes. I couldn't see very much from here, so I tried to climb up the railing. I squeaked when someone picked me up. Kid had grabbed me and set me up on his shoulder.

"Wow!" I could see everything much from up here!

I heard him chuckle. "Better now?"

I nodded quickly. "Yup! Thank you, Brother!"

He kept one hand on my knees to make sure I didn't fall and I had one hand holding a spike on his coat. The island was getting closer and closer. I could barely hold my excitement in. _I wonder what kind of island this is! I wonder if anything exciting will happen! Will it be like home?_ I was bouncing slightly until my brother tightened his grip on my knees. I tried to calm down since I didn't want to be set down.

It took a minute for the ship to dock completely. Then my brother led everyone into town. _Wow! It's like a city! Everything is made of stone, too!_ It was all so amazing to me. I kept pointing to things and Killer would try to explain them to me. People were staring at us, too.

"Brother, why are they staring?"

He glanced at them. "I have a pretty high bounty. And it probably looks strange for a small child to be riding on my shoulder," he smirked.

I huffed, "I'm not a child!" I opened my palm to create a fire. "And I can even make myself look less out of place by using my fire."

He laughed. "Not bothering to argue with the small part?"

I frowned. "But there's no point. I am short."

The people were looking worried now. We stopped at a small bar and when we entered, the whole place went quiet. After we sat down, a few of the patrons ran out. _Are they that scared of my brother? He must be even more amazing than I thought!_ He set me in the seat next to him and a waiter walked up.

"U-um, children aren't supposed to be allowed in the bar…"

Kid growled at him. "Are you telling my sister to get out?"

The waiter jumped. "N-no! O-of course she can s-stay!" He was almost vibrating in fear.

I giggled. "I'm not a child. I'm 17!"

He looked at me. "O-of course. W-what would you like?"

The rest of the crew ordered some sort of alcohol. I didn't want to have that though. "Um… Oh! Can I have lemonade?" I asked excitedly.

The waiter looked confused. "S-sure," he said before walking away.

I blinked a few times. _Is that a bad thing or is it just weird to order lemonade in a bar?_ I shook my head. I looked around the room to find something interesting. I saw a paper on an empty table and skipped up to it. It was a newspaper. I opened it up to see if there was anything about my island in it. A few papers fell out and I went to grab them. I gasped when I saw the top one.

"Brother, Brother! Look!" I grabbed the paper and ran to him. "I have a bounty!"

He took the paper from me and read it out loud. "Eustass Presea of the Flames- 1,000,000 beli. Wanted alive." He smirked. "Good job, little sister." Then he turned to Killer. "Alive? They must want to use her against me."

Killer nodded. "They hardly use just alive anymore."

I looked back and forth between them. "What do you mean? I won't go against you guys." It didn't make any sense.

Killer tried to explain. "The Marines want you alive so they can tell us to either give up or they would kill you. They want something to hold over Kid."

"Oh… So I have to try extra hard not to let them catch me!"

My brother smirked. "Exactly right."

I grinned up at him. _Then the Marines will never catch me!_ I sat down next to my brother again and waited for our drinks to come. The waiter looked like he was having trouble carrying everyone's drinks. I skipped up to him and steadied his hand.

He looked down at me. "T-thanks."

I grinned. "You're welcome, Mister Waiter!"

"Presea. You shouldn't go off without telling me."

I walked slowly with the waiter. "Sorry, Brother. I won't do it next time."

When the drinks were carefully set down, I sat next to my brother again. My lemonade tasted good! I looked up at him. "Do you want some?"

He glanced at me. "Fine."

I smiled and passed him my glass. My brothers seemed to agree a lot when I asked them if they wanted something.

-flashback—

"Brother! Killer Brother!"

They were standing at the edge of the forest when I ran up to them. I was holding onto a fruit. "Do you want a piece?" I asked, holding it up to them.

They shook their heads and my face fell. _I thought they would have wanted some…_ I looked between them and the fruit in my hands. _Maybe it's because it isn't in pieces yet._ I stepped closer to my brother and pulled the dagger he had on his side out of its sheath.

"Hey! What're you-"

I tried to cut it carefully. The blade sliced through the palm of my hand though, and blood dripped on the ground. I looked down at the blood. "I'm sorry…"

Kid swore quietly and took the fruit and dagger from me. Killer pulled me back to towards the house and then down to the ocean. He put my hand in the water and cleaned the cut.

"You should be more careful," he scolded.

"B-but I thought you and Brother would want some if I cut it up…"

He sighed and put an arm around me. "It wasn't that… We just weren't hungry."

I sniffled. "That's not true… You haven't had anything since morning." I saw him look at me. "We never went to see Mister Baker today, so you haven't had lunch like we usually do."

"That's- I didn't mean it like that. Yes, we haven't eaten, but that doesn't mean we're hungry."

I felt sad. "But you need to eat lunch…" Isn't that what my brother was always telling me?

"Here. I found some bandages we could use." Kid handed them to Killer.

I looked up at my brother as my hand was wrapped. "You need to eat lunch, don't you?"

He sighed and covered his face. "Yes, but we weren't hungry today." Then he remembered the dagger. "You shouldn't use my weapons, little sister. You could have hurt yourself much worse."

I hung my head. "Yes, Brother."

He picked me up when Killer had finished. "Let's go back up." He carried me to the house and set me inside. The fruit was lying on our little table, cut into three pieces. I looked back up at him. He smirked. "Leave the cutting to me. Now we can eat lunch."

-end flashback—

Kid placed the glass in front of me. "You like that stuff?"

I giggled. "It tastes good! Ella always had it!"

He had a small smile. "If you say so."

I grinned and finished my drink. I set the glass in front of me and looked around the room again. "Brother, could I go out somewhere?" I asked, looking at the ceiling.

"Only if someone goes with you." He glanced at Heat who wasn't drinking anything. "Heat. Take my sister around. And make sure nothing happens to her," he added with a growl.

Heat stood up quietly and waited for me to get up. I gave my brothers a quick hug before jumping off my seat.

"Oh, wait," I turned back to them. "Can I maybe get more clothes so I don't have to borrow Killer Brother's shirt all the time?"

He tossed a small bag and Heat caught it. "Have fun."

I grinned. "Okay!"

I grabbed Heat's hand as we walked out of the building. This would be fun!


	5. Chapter 5: It Hurts, Brother

I skipped down the streets holding Heat's hand. We stopped at a clothing shop that was a little ways away from the bar we had sat at. It looked really pretty on the outside! "Heat! Can we go in here?"

He nodded. I giggled and pulled him in. There were so many clothes; I didn't know where to look. A lady walked up to me.

"Hello. Are you looking for some clothes, little girl?"

I frowned. "I'm not a little girl. I'm 17!"

She seemed surprised. "Oh, well, um… Do you want some help finding something?"

"Yeah!" This would be exciting!

* * *

It took a good hour or so before we finished in the clothing store. The lady was so helpful! I walked out wearing a long, light pink shirt that reached part way to my knees. Underneath I had a long blue skirt, reaching past my knees. The lady even had found a large blue bow that she put on the back of my head to pull part of my hair back. I thought it was great how much she had helped!

I twirled around a few times after we had left. Heat watched me, making sure I never got too far away. He was carrying the few bags of clothes I had gotten from the store. I paused for a moment to see where he was; I smiled and waved at him. He nodded to let me know he saw. I laughed and twirled around again.

"…!" I opened my mouth when I stepped on a large rock. I tripped, falling onto my foot. I moved it out in front of me and touched it carefully. "Ow…"

I heard Heat run up to me. "Little Presea!" _I guess he'll call me that now, just like Ella did._ "Are you alright?"

I shook my head. "I hurt my ankle…"

He picked me up carefully and walked towards the ship. "I hope they're back now…"

He walked quickly, trying to be careful at the same time.

"Presea!" I looked up to see my brother walking towards me. He was looking mad. "Heat, what the fuck happened to her?"

"It's not his fault," I said. I didn't want Heat to get in trouble. "I tripped and he helped me."

I was handed over to Kid. He gripped me tightly for a moment. "Are you okay?" his voice was quiet.

I shook my head. "It hurts, Brother…"

He growled, walking back into town. "Killer, I'm going to find the medical shop!"

He stomped back into the town, looking at the shops we passed. Finally, he paused in front of one store. He slammed the door open and walked up to a terrified looking woman.

"Fix her ankle, or else," he hissed.

I was lightly set on the counter. The woman was shaking slightly as she touched my ankle. I squeezed my brother's hand, making him growl at the woman. She pulled away.

"U-um, s-she just needs s-some bandaging a-and then she'll be alright," she said.

She ran into the back of the store, leaving me with my brother. I looked up at him. "B-Brother?" He looked down at me, still mad. "I'm sorry for tripping…"

He sighed and placed his other hand on my head. "Will you stop running around so much now? Or at least be more careful?"

I nodded. The woman came back out with a roll of bandages and started to unravel it slightly. I tried to hold still as she wrapped my ankle, but it hurt. I kept flinching and squeezing my brother's hand. I could hear him growling at her.

She stepped away from us. "T-there. She sh-should be fine as long as she doesn't walk on it."

I looked up at my brother and he picked me up. He walked back out of the store and the woman breathed a sigh of relief. I giggled at how scared people were of my brother. He glanced down at me.

"People are really scared of you," I said with a smile.

He smirked. "Of course. I told you I had a high bounty."

I grinned at him. _My brother is amazing._ I saw Killer walking towards us, so I waved at him.

"Killer Brother!"

We stopped walking when he reached us. "So, what happened?"

Kid looked a little mad as he thought about it. "The woman said she just needs to stay off it for a while."

Killer nodded. I looked between them. "Can I stand on the ground?"

I'm pretty sure Killer Brother frowned at me along with Brother. "You were just told to not walk on it."

"But if I hold your hands, I won't have to," I blinked.

Kid carefully set me on the ground, holding my right hand. Killer grabbed my left next. I grinned and hopped up and down. They walked slowly back to the ship while I hopped between them, sometimes being held up in the air. I laughed and they smiled a little. I was glad they weren't mad at me for getting hurt.

* * *

I was sitting in the middle of the deck with my legs out in front of me. Everyone else was either inside the ship or getting supplies in town. I sighed. _I can't do anything now…_ Brother went inside the ship and Killer told me to sit down for a while. It was really boring though…

"Heat!" I yelled.

He stepped out of the doorway where he was watching me. He looked confused, so I giggled. I raised my arms up to him. He stepped forward and picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a hug.

"Thank you for helping me before." I pulled back so I could see his face. "Why is your hair almost white?" He shrugged. "Are you a lot older than my brother?" He shook his head. "I should call you Papa!"

I laughed when he looked at me funny. "Why should I be called Papa, little Presea?"

I thought about it for a moment. "'Cause you remind me of the grandpa at home." I grinned, "And your hair's almost white, too!"

-flashback—

I was wandering around town only a few weeks after my brothers had been forced to leave. It was starting to get close to supper, but I didn't want to go home. I heard the crunch of gravel behind me and I whipped around.

"Now there's no one to protect you, stupid girl."

I felt scared. Some of the boys my brothers had beat up were trying to surround me. I ran away from them, their footsteps following me closely. I stopped at the house at the edge of town and climbed the large tree outside of it. I could hear some of the boys yelling at me.

"Why don't you come down here so we can talk to you?"

Some of the boys laughed. "Yeah, we only want to talk."

I hugged the tree tightly. "No! My brother said you always lied so I don't trust you!"

One of the boys growled. "Then we'll just have to come up to get you."

I watched as he slowly reached the first level, then the next. I climbed up further, trying to escape. I felt his hand grip my ankle and I screamed. My other foot was kicking wildly, hoping to hit him and break his hold. He dropped down a branch as my foot hit his face.

I scrambled further up the tree, reaching the weakest part. My brother told me to be careful at the top of the tree because it would move around more and could break easier. I clutched the branch, praying that it wouldn't break.

"Oy! What are you boys doing there? You shouldn't be climbing my tree!"

The boys ran away when they heard the old man's voice. I carefully looked down the tree to see him staring up at me.

"Were they bothering you, girlie? Come down now, you're safe."

He had his hands up to catch me. I shook my head, holding the branch tighter. _I'm scared, and my brother isn't here to help me…_ He wiggled his fingers.

"Come on, now. I can't climb up there to get you, but I'll be here to catch you."

He pushed up his little glasses before reaching for me again. I slowly stepped down one branch. And then another. And another. He was talking encouragingly to me the whole time.

"Come on, you're almost there now." I slipped off the last branch. "Oof! Well then, I told you I'd catch you," he grinned. I started to cry. He patted my back, carrying me inside his house. "There you go. Where those boys being nasty again? I knew they were little scoundrels," he frowned.

I nodded. "T-they said they just wanted to talk, but they were chasing me…"

He set me down on a couch. "There. How about we go to see Miss Ella so she doesn't worry about you?" I shook my head. "Alright then, we can wait a few minutes." He sat down in a chair next to a fire.

I watched him closely, wondering if I could trust the old man. My brother didn't like to trust people because he said they would turn on you quickly. The man scratched his white hair and flattened his beard. I giggled quietly. _He looks kinda funny._ He looked over to me with a smile.

"Much better! You should laugh more often, girlie. Now, how about telling me a little about yourself and your brothers?"

I paused. _It wouldn't hurt to tell him, would it?_ "My name's Presea and my brother is Kid. I found Killer Brother at the shore, so he came to live with us." I stopped for a moment. "My brother would always beat up those boys because they would be mean to us."

The man nodded. "Yes, and their parents never seem to believe that their children could do something wrong." He rolled his eyes. "They're just stupid." I giggled at his words. He smiled before turning serious. "Miss Presea-"

"Ella calls me little Presea," I said, cutting him off.

"Alright then, little Presea, did you live by yourself with your brothers?"

I nodded. "My brother always took care of me. He said our mom and dad left when I was little, so I don't remember them." I tilted my head, thinking about something. "Did you know my mom and dad, Mister Helper?"

He laughed. "That's not my name. Just call me… Grandpa!" He smiled. "Papa works, too." Then he frowned. "No, I didn't know them. They never came into town and I never visited them."

"Oh." was all I said. I thought he might have known.

He stood up from his chair and held his hand out for me. "Shall we go let Miss Ella know where you are so she doesn't worry? I bet she's starting to wonder what happened to you."

I stood up and grabbed his hand. "Okay." I didn't want to make Ella worry.

We walked back to Ella's house and she was in tears when the door opened. She knelt down so she could hug me, saying over and over about how I should never do that again. I nodded, hugging her back. I didn't want to make anyone worry about me again.

-end flashback—

"Papa Heat, Grandpa Heat," I giggled. I looked up at him. "Do you like your name?"

I saw a small smile on his face. "I suppose so."

I smiled wider and hugged him again. "Yay! Now I have a Grandpa!"

I was so happy! I even got to see Heat smile! _Heat is definitely like a grandpa. He's always watching me to make sure I'm okay._ I clapped my hands.

I stopped for a moment. "Can I go tell my brothers?" He started to walk inside and I squirmed. "I want to try walking again, please!"

My brother preferred when I said please so I wasn't demanding things. Heat sighed and set me down, gripping my hands in front of him. I hopped a couple steps forward and Heat took one step behind me. I giggled and continued down the hallway.

He stopped me when we reached Killer's room. I removed one of my hands from Heat's and knocked on the door. Killer opened it and looked down at me. I raised my arm, motioning for him to pick me up. He carefully did and I hugged him. "I have a grandpa now!"

"Who?" I grinned and pointed at Heat. Killer looked up at Heat. "And did he agree to this?"

Heat nodded slowly. "See? Now I have two brothers and a grandpa!"

Killer patted my head. "Have you told Kid yet?"

I shook my head. "We stopped here first. Can we go see Brother now or is he busy?"

Killer started walking to Kid's room. "We'll see."

I wrapped my arms around Killer and hid my head against him. _I wonder what my brother will say when I tell him? Will he think it's a bad idea?_ We stopped outside the door and I knocked again. I could hear a muffled 'come in" just before Killer opened the door. Heat stepped in after us.

Kid crossed his arms and looked at all of us. "What's this about?"

I was jumping up and down in Killer's arms. "I have a grandpa now!"

He motioned for me to come closer. Killer set me in his arms. "And who would this be?"

I grinned at him. "Heat. He even agreed!"

Kid looked at Killer and Heat. Killer nodded and they left the room. He sighed heavily. "Presea, do you know what happened to our family?"

I nodded slowly. "Ella told me what happened to mom and dad."

"Are you making people part of your family because you feel you need to have more family?"

I shook my head. "I do it because it feels like they are. Grandpa Heat acts just like the grandpa at home. And Killer Brother is just like another brother to me." I hugged Kid. "But you'll always be my family. I don't want you to go anywhere, Brother…"

He brushed my hair. "And I won't. I won't let anyone try to hurt you again. I'll always be here for my little sister."

I felt happy, but a little sad. A couple tears fell down my face. _I always want you to be here…_ I snuggled closer to his body. He had one arm around me as he continued the work on his desk. I turned around to watch him write on a sheet of paper.

"Sabaody Archipelago," I stumbled over the words he had written. "What's that?"

"That's the place we need to get to once we're in the Grand Line. We have one more stop before we can go over there."

"Only one more island before the Grand Line? Will it be hard to get over there?"

He smirked. "Not for me."

I grinned back at him. _My brother's the best._ If he thought he could do it, then he would. Especially with Killer and the rest of his crew behind him. I bet they could go anywhere and do anything, and no one would be able to stop them.

Kid stood up, gripping me so I wouldn't fall. "I guess you should go down to eat."

I looked out his small window. _I hadn't even noticed that it had gotten this late._ "Is Mister Cook going to make food for everyone?"

He still had a smirk on his face. "Nope. We're going to eat in the town while we can."

* * *

Everyone had followed my brother off the ship. We were now at some sort of bar-place. _There are lots of girls here… Why aren't they wearing much?_ I was sitting between my brothers and watching everyone else. Some of the men had disappeared with a girl and I wondered if this was like what my brothers had told me about with the "men and woman" talk. _Is this why some of the men wanted to come here?_

I slowly picked at my food, not feeling very hungry. We had gotten here a few hours ago, so it must have been pretty late by now. I pushed my plate away when I was finally done with it. _I wonder how much longer we'll stay here…_ My eyes were beginning to droop. I rubbed them sleepily.

"Tired?" Killer asked. I nodded. He pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around me. "I don't know how much longer until Kid decides we should leave."

I glanced over at my brother to see a woman sitting in his lap. _I'm pretty sure that's why the men wanted to come here… Whatever they do is their choice, it won't bother me._ I slightly shrugged at my thoughts and turned away from him. I leaned against Killer and dozed off.

"You can take her back to the ship," Kid said.

Killer looked over at him. He stood up when the woman moved again, making Kid grunt.

"Alright."

We left the bar and stepped out into the cold night air. I curled myself smaller, trying to get closer to Killer's warmth. He tightened his arms around me and walked back to the ship. The town was quiet except for the occasional rustle of an animal scurrying away.

"I should have brought you back sooner. You probably didn't need to see Kid like that," he muttered to himself.

I looked up at him. "Is that what you and Brother meant by men and women being together?"

Killer sighed. "Yeah, something like that." He glanced down at me for a moment. "Even though you're 17, it seems more like you haven't grown up since we left the island."

I looked down at my hands. "I know. Ella always told me I should grow up more so I wouldn't be a bother when you guys came back for me. I just can't help it though. I guess I couldn't let go of the time when we were all still together." I smiled sadly. "It doesn't help that it was only ever me and Ella. Mister Baker didn't take care of me much while Ella was around and Grandpa only came around every so often. So I didn't have anyone else to help me figure out how to grow up."

Killer brushed my hair away from my eyes. "I never said it was a bad thing… I was just surprised when you came on our ship looking and acting the same."

I grinned at him. "I hardly grew after you left, you know. Brother is still twice as tall as me." I paused for a second. "I think I grew up some, though. Ella taught me how to read and write. She also showed me how to do most basic medical things. Mister Baker taught me how to cook. Grandpa didn't really do anything," I giggled.

I could hear Killer chuckling. "I guess that's true." He ruffled my hair. "You're still our little sister though."

I gave him a small hug. "I always want to be your little sister. I would never want to leave you or Brother…"

I yawned. My eyes were getting heavier. Killer lightly stepped on the deck and walked to his room. Once he had pulled the blankets back, he set me down and covered me back up.

"Goodnight, Killer Brother…"

His fingers brushed my cheek. "Goodnight, Presea."

* * *

I woke up in the morning, but Killer wasn't there again. I slowly got off the bed and hopped to the door. _I wonder where Papa Heat put the clothes I got._ I opened the door quietly and hopped outside. There was no one in the hallways. I turned a corner, hoping to see Heat.

Still no one. _Where'd everyone go?_ I finally got to the deck to see everyone crowded around. I tried to see what was happening, but the men were too tall and were standing too close together. I tried to squeeze through them.

The tallest man on the ship looked down at me. "Presea."

I looked up at him. "What's going on, Mister Tall Crewmember?"

"Wire." He turned back to look at the same thing everyone else saw. "It appears our captain got angry."

I raised my arms. "Can you help me see, please?"

He picked me up so I could look over the other crewmembers' heads. The ground in front of the ship was stained red with blood. _Did my brother do this? Why?_ I felt only slightly surprised. I guess I should have been disgusted or something, but what my brother did never bothered me.

There were a few bodies lying in the blood, tons of small spikes and weapons protruding from their bodies. _Yup, my brother did this._ Who else would have the same power as him? I looked around, but I couldn't see him anywhere.

"Wire, where's my brother?"

He shrugged. "No one knows. Your other brother went out looking for him earlier."

I nodded absentmindedly. _So both of my brothers are gone… What about Papa?_ I looked through the crowd of the crew and spotted him standing at the edge.

"Papa!"

He looked up at me before walking up to Wire. He held me out to him. Heat pulled me closer to his body once Wire had let go.

"Do you know what happened?"

He shook his head. "We have to wait for Master Kid to return."

He took me off the deck and brought me to the kitchen. Mister Cook was the only one in there, stirring a pot of something. He looked up to see us walk in.

"Ah, you must be wanting some food, kiddo. Bring her here, Heat."

Mister Cook handed me a small bowl of porridge. I took a small bite of it. "It tastes good! Thank you, Mister Cook!"

He smiled slightly at me. "It's no problem."

Heat walked through the door that led to the mess hall. He set me down in one of the chairs and sat across from me. "Are you hungry, Papa?"

He shook his head, so I continued eating. He took my bowl away when I was done. "Where do you want to go now?"

I thought about that. "Do you still have my new clothes?" He nodded. "Let's go get my clothes then!" I grinned.

He picked me up again and walked to where he had left them. He opened the door to a room that held four beds. I looked up at him as he grabbed the bags from the corner.

"Papa, do you share this room with other people?" He nodded. "Who?"

"Wire. The cook. One of the kitchen helpers."

I nodded. "I met Wire for the first time today! He's super tall."

He stopped at Killer's room this time. I hadn't even realized he had walked back here. He placed the bags on the floor and set me down inside. "I'll let you change," he said before he closed the door behind him.

I looked through the bags, wondering what I should wear. I grabbed a long black jacket along with a white shirt. I slipped them on and searched for pants or a skirt. I pulled out a pair of dark blue pants and hopped to the bed. _It's so awkward to change when I can't put my other foot down._ I sat on the bed as I pulled the pants on. I left the jacket open, only buttoning up the last few buttons.

I hopped back to the door and opened it. Heat moved to grab me when I remembered something. "Wait! I need the bow I had yesterday."

I hopped back inside, searching for the bow. _I think I remember Killer Brother taking it off after he set me on the bed…_ I hopped to his desk and found on the corner. I pulled some of my hair back, tying the bow up.

I turned back to Heat. "Now I'm ready!" I smiled.

He picked me up again. "Where do you want to go?"

"Can we go to the deck again? I want to be there when my brothers come back."

He set off to the deck. Most of the crew had gone back to what they were doing before, only a few still lingering around. I asked Heat to set me down on the deck and I stretched my legs out once I was sitting.

Eventually, only Heat and I were on the deck. Neither of my brothers had shown up yet and it was after lunch. Heat had left for a moment to bring me a sandwich Mister Cook had made for me. _Mister Cook is so nice!_ I ate it quickly and returned to waiting.

I started playing with my powers while I waited, this time trying to repeat something I hadn't done in a few weeks. Fire flickered on my palm, growing red, green, and blue. I had to stop myself from clapping. _It's working!_

I heard a heavy step on the deck. I looked up to see my brother step towards me with Killer following him. He stopped for a moment to look at the thing in my hand. "What is that?"

I grinned up at them. "This is Tiki."

* * *

Extras:

Miss Doflamingo- You're going to give my secrets away! :p Lol, you were correct though, something did happen. Was it what you expected?

.log- I wanted to make her really sweet. She just seems so adorable this way! I love how she is extremely innocent, and yet isn't bothered by the blood stained earth. It seems so contradictory.

Guest users- Thank all of you for sending me reviews! I loved them!

Bonus note: I am planning on going all out with one fanfic. I want to have around six OCs, and I would love if some of you guys (and girls) would send me some ideas for people. Like gender (I need mostly female), any devil fruits, fighting skills, appearance, and so on. Please send me ideas! I would love to get some from the people who have been following me closely (yes, Miss Doflamingo and DevynSmith, I'm looking at you). Please and thank you!


	6. Chapter 6: Tiki the Demon Ember

My brothers stared back at me. "Who?"

"Tiki. I call him my demon ember," I grinned.

The flame flickered, its red color darker than a regular fire. I looked back down at it, noticing the darkest spots for his eyes and mouth were moving.

"Wait, what was that?" I waited for Tiki to repeat it. It sounded like a lot of hissing and clicks. "Right." I looked back up at my brother. "What happened to those people?"

Kid glanced off the ship. "They pissed me off."

I heard Killer sigh. _I wonder what they did…_ "Why did you attack them?"

Kid's eyes narrowed. "Never mind. Just drop it."

I blinked. "Okay then." If something was bothering him, then I wouldn't push it. I knew he didn't like when people pushed him.

He stomped into the ship, Killer staying behind. He walked closer to me and crouched down. "Can you talk to it?"

I nodded. "Tiki can understand us, too!" I brought Tiki up to my face. "Can you try talking to Killer Brother?"

It turned so the dark spots were facing him. It started hissing sounds. "Hhhellllooo," Tiki breathed.

I clapped my hands. Tiki couldn't speak properly and I was always happier when he could speak for others to understand. Killer seemed a little shocked.

"Well then… Does it use a lot of energy to summon it?"

I thought about that. "I guess not. But it does when I make another one." I concentrated until a second crackled into life in my other hand. "They work like a den-den mushi. But people seem to have trouble understanding the words since Tiki can't speak properly…"

I let the second one slowly fade until it disappeared. Tiki's flame flickered green.

"Okay, okay. I'll get up now."

Killer held a hand out to me and pulled up so I was standing. "What did it say?"

I shrugged. "It's hard to translate sometimes. It was something like food or time. I understand what Tiki says, it's just difficult to translate the meanings."

Killer picked me up, making me squeak. I laughed after I caught my breath. _Killer Brother has carried me a lot since I've come here…_ I looked up at him. "Why do you carry me more now?"

"Because Kid isn't always here." His answer was quiet and short.

I gave him a small hug. "Thank you, Killer Brother." We walked in silence for a little longer. "Why did Brother seem mad?"

He sighed. "Kid is overly protective." I blinked. _Does that mean he did that because of me?_ Killer continued, "He happened to overhear a few men talking at the edge of town. They were bounty hunters."

"Oh…" I think I understood now. "So were they saying something about how they should try catching me to get my bounty?" Killer nodded sharply. _I didn't know I would cause them this much trouble…_ "I'm sorry I made both of you worry…"

He stopped walking and looked down at me. "It's not your fault and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He sounded a little angry.

I looked down and nodded. _Maybe my brothers don't like me knowing about the bad stuff…_ I shook my head. _No, I know they don't like me knowing about the bad stuff._

-flashback—

I tried to run over to my brother, but Killer was holding me back. "Brother!" I cried.

I could barely see him standing only a few trees away. It was getting dark out and he still hadn't come back over here. Two of the older boys had challenged him to a fight. They said it would be fair, that they only wanted to have some fun. They tried to hurt my brother at the same time, and I knew they were cheating, but Killer Brother wouldn't go to help him. He only held me back to keep me from running to him.

I was struggling in his grip, staring at my brother's frame. I twisted away, his hands letting go enough for me to jump forward.

"Presea!" he yelled, running after me.

I ran faster than him, stopping as I passed the last tree between me and my brother. The two boys' bodies were lying in the blood soaked dirt. My brother had his head leaning on his hands, sitting on the ground. I froze, afraid of what was wrong. I vaguely noticed Killer had stopped on the other side of the trees. My brother glanced up at me and turned his face away from me.

I took a step forward and he growled. "Don't come near me!"

I stopped again. He sounded mad… but at me this time. I felt tears run down my cheeks. "W-why?" my voice was quiet.

He didn't answer. _Did he hate me now?_ I could hear how the boys would always tell me my brother would end up leaving me behind because he was tired of taking care me. _Were their words true…?_ I took a step backwards. _Brother…?_ I span around and ran. I heard Killer calling me, but I wouldn't look back. If my brother didn't want me around anymore, I had nowhere to go.

I felt the tears falling faster as I ran. _Brother doesn't want me… He doesn't want me…_ I stopped, almost falling over the edge of the cliff. I had run all the way back to the edge near our house. _His house…_ I looked away from it.

"Presea!" Killer burst through the trees behind me, pausing when he saw me. "What are you doing?" he sounded worried.

I glanced back at him. _What will I do without my brother? Will I be able to do everything alone because he'll always be pushing me away…?_ I clutched my head, shaking it hard. I felt arms reach around me. I jerked away from them, and the earth broke under my feet. My eyes widened and everything seemed to slow. Killer's eyes were wide, his hand reaching for me.

I let out a scream as I fell towards the ocean under me. _I can't swim…_ I hit the water hard, slowly sinking. The impact froze my body for a few seconds, letting some water enter my body. _Brother… I'm so sorry…_ I saw a shape enter the water and swim towards me. My wrist was gripped and I pulled back up to the surface. I coughed harshly, water from my lungs pouring out. I couldn't see anything, but I felt the ground as I was set down.

I looked up at the person who saved me. I saw red hair. _Brother…?_ His arms wrapped tightly around me. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

I cried. I couldn't hold it back as he held onto me. I could hear Killer running down the path to us, but I was afraid he would yell at me. I buried my head against my brother, tears falling quickly.

"Why did you fall in? I told you to stay away from the ocean!"

I felt his tears drop onto my head. I clutched his wet clothes tightly. "I-I thought… you didn't want me around anymore…"

I felt him shaking. "Who the hell told you that?! You're my sister, idiot…" He pulled away enough to move my hair back and look at my face. "I just didn't want you to see… that. I didn't want you to see the only part the boys in town see…"

Tears flowed down my face. "I don't care… I want to be with you, I don't care how you act or what you do!" I cried.

He pulled me back against his chest. "Idiot… You almost drowned because of me…" He was trying to hold back his tears. "I told you you couldn't swim… You're too small…"

I sniffed. "I-I know…"

I had only turned seven a few months ago, and I had barely grown. My brothers had to hold onto me whenever we entered the water. It was too easy for the waves to pull me out into deeper water. It had happened more than once.

He slowly stood up, his arms still gripping me tightly. Killer followed us as he carried me back up to the house. _Maybe it's still our house…_ He didn't set me down when he entered. He grabbed the towel and wrapped it around me. I was starting to shake from the cold. He set me on the bed for a moment, throwing his soaked shirt aside and grabbing dry clothes to replace the wet ones.

He sat next to me, pulling me into his lap. I curled closer to him. I could feel his hand rubbing my back, trying to warm me up. Killer handed him some of my own clothes. The towel was pulled away and he slowly slid my shirt off, passing me the new one. I continued to shiver as I changed to the pants. _I didn't mean to make them worry…_ I curled closer to my brother's body again.

Killer stood next to the door, waiting silently. I wondered why he wasn't coming closer. I reached my hand out to him and waited for him to do something. He seemed torn between two things. Eventually he stepped closer, stopping far enough away so my hand could barely reach him.

"Killer Brother?"

I felt my brother release me, so I stood up. I wrapped my arms around Killer as tight as I could.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled against him.

Suddenly he was kneeling and he was holding me tightly. "Don't ever do that again… Promise me."

I nodded. "I promise…"

-end flashback—

Killer set me down inside of the mess hall and left quietly. _Did the bounty hunters' words bother him, too?_ I hopped up to the front of the hall. Mister Cook hadn't set food out yet, so I guessed he would be soon. _Maybe I'll go visit Mister Cook for a bit._ I hopped through the doors to the kitchen.

I paused for a moment. I couldn't see Mister Cook anywhere. I frowned. _He didn't start cooking either… I guess I can start it for him!_ I hopped over to the counter and started looking at what food we had. _Meat, carrots, potatoes… Let's see, I could make meat in gravy and then cook the small potatoes with the carrots._ I licked my lips and giggled. _That sounds yummy!_

I found a large pot behind one door for the potatoes and carrots and a wide pan to brown the meat in. Next I pulled out the meat and cut it into small cubes before throwing it in the pan. I cut and washed the carrots and potatoes while the meat cooked. The carrots and potatoes boiled until they were done, then I used some of that water and mixed it into the meat, adding a bit of flour.

After it was all mixed, I tasted it. _It's missing something…_ I looked through the spices, but none of them smelled right. I frowned. _There must be something else then._ I started searching through the other cupboards, looking for any other spices. I finally found a small container of some brown powder in the back of one cupboard. _And it smells just right!_ I added a bit to the meat until it tasted good. Then I searched for something for the potatoes and carrots. I added a bit of parsley and some butter. _Everything looks good to me._

The door opened and Mister Cook walked in. His mouth fell open when he saw me with the food already finished. "Did you do all of this, kiddo?"

I grinned. "Yup! Now you don't need to worry about making food for everyone tonight."

A smile tugged at his lips. "You're very sweet, Presea." He ruffled my hair. "How about we set the stuff out and then call the men to eat?"

I nodded quickly as he chuckled. He grabbed the big pot and the pan, taking it out to the mess hall. When he came back, he pulled me up and carried me out as well. There were already quite a few men in the hall.

"Now, you slobs, Presea went and made all this food for ya, so you'd better enjoy it and be thankful," he yelled so they could all hear him.

Some of the men looked surprised while others mumbled in agreement. I watched as they all quickly grabbed their food and sat down. Mister Cook handed me a bowl with a smile. I thanked him before hopping over to my usual seat. It tasted fairly good, but any of the men who walked past me said they really liked it. _Yay! They like my cooking!_ I was happy about that.

I looked around the room after a bit, searching for my brothers. But neither of them was in the room. _Are they still mad…?_ "Papa!" I yelled when I saw Heat.

He slowly walked up to me and picked me up. "Have you seen my brothers?" He shook his head.

At that moment, Killer walked in. I gasped and wiggled my fingers towards him. Killer walked up to me, lightly grabbing my hand.

"Where's Brother?"

He shook his head. "He's still in his room. I don't know when he'll be coming back out."

I looked up at Heat. "If I ask you to take me there with some food, would you?"

Heat blinked a couple times. "I suppose so," he finally said after looking at Killer.

I smiled. _Maybe I can help Brother feel better._ Heat held onto me as I filled a bowl of food and then walked me to my brother's cabin. I knocked softly on the door, waiting for him to say I could come in.

"Fuck off," was what I heard through the door.

I frowned slightly. _I know he probably wants to be left alone, but I want him to eat something…_ I wiggled in Heat's grip so he would set me down. Then I carefully opened the door and slipped inside.

Kid was sitting at his desk, his fists on top and clenched. He glanced up at me with a frown still on his face. "I didn't say you could come in," he grumbled.

I carefully hopped over to him, setting the bowl on the desk. "I know."

He sighed before pulling the food to himself. I waited at the edge of his desk, unsure of whether he wanted me to go. He glanced up at me again and closed his eyes, reaching one hand out. I slowly hopped up to him and he set me on his lap. I sat still until he was done eating.

He pushed the bowl away and wrapped one arm around my waist. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

_What?_ I looked up at him. "Why are you sorry, Brother?"

His eyes were closed. "For… pushing you away again…" I knew he was referring to what happened when I was seven. "They just made me so mad…" His arm tightened around me. "I'll never let anyone do that to you. Ever," he growled.

I smiled lightly. "I know." I gave him a small hug. _Brother's always been really protective of me._ I would never have to worry about feeling like I was in danger as long as my brother was around.

He stood, still holding my waist. He grabbed his empty bowl before he left the room. He walked into the kitchen and set it down by the sink. Mister Cook turned to me with a grin.

"Ah, kiddo, the men really liked your food tonight! I may have to ask for your help in the kitchen more!" he glanced at Kid looking a little worried.

My brother had a small smirk on his face. "Then this may have to be your job on the ship from now on," he mused.

I gasped. "Really?!" He nodded and I squealed, hugging him. "Thank you so much!"

He chuckled quietly. "You're welcome, little sister."

I was grinning widely. _Maybe this is actually a good day instead of a bad one._ He set me down and I hopped up to Mister Cook. "Let's start cleaning!"

We were both grinning as we cleaned the kitchen. Soon there was only the pan left to wash, but it had black stuff stuck really badly to it. I frowned for a moment before remembering something. "Tiki!"

He quickly formed in my hand, a small blue flame. He hissed and crackled a few times before I set him on the pan. He slowly moved around the pan, eating the cooked-on food. I giggled as the flame slowly got bigger. _I guess I needed to bring him out to eat anyways._

Mister Cook looked curiously over me. "This is Tiki! He likes to help me clean by eating the rest of the food," I smiled.

He looked at me strangely. "If you say so, kiddo."

I giggled and held out my hand to Tiki when he was done. The flame was much larger and more orange colored now. It started hissing and crackling again.

"Time… Moving… Ship?" I tried to understand the words. "Oh! You meant when is the ship leaving?" There was a loud pop from the flame. "I don't know. Mister Cook, when are we leaving the island?"

He looked over at me and thought about it. "Erm, probably tonight. I doubt the captain wants to stay here any longer now."

I nodded. "Thank you!" I looked back at Tiki. "Does that answer your question?" There was a hiss and a pop. "Why did you want to know?"

I watched it closely. Tiki's mouth was moving quickly. _Bad… Weather… Dark?_ My eyes widened. "There's going to be a storm?"

I hopped quickly from the room. _I have to tell Brother before it comes!_ I reached his room, but he wasn't there. I frowned. _Where to go, where to go…_ I changed direction and moved towards the deck. Killer was standing on the lower deck, but I still couldn't see my brother.

"Killer Brother!" He turned at my voice. "Where's Brother?"

"Up here."

I looked up at the second level where he was standing. "Brother, will we be leaving soon?"

He stared at the blood stained ground. "Soon." He looked back down at me. "Why?"

"Tiki thinks there's going to be a storm."

He frowned. "Are you sure about that?"

I held Tiki up and the flame slowly climbed up the wall until it reached the railing in front of Kid. "Tiki," I yelled up at it. "Nod to Brother if you think there's going to be a storm."

I saw my brother's eyes widen slightly as the flame moved. He growled and looked at the crew. "We're leaving now. You two," he pointed at two men, "go into town and get the rest of the men with our supplies." He smirked evilly, "And leave a trail behind you."

They rushed off past the buildings, searching for their crewmates. _A trail…? He must have been telling them to have a little "fun" with the town._ I shrugged. Whatever my brother chose to do didn't bother me. And that extended to what he told his crew to do as well.

"Tiki! You can come down now."

The flame turned until I could see the dark spots moving. I frowned.

"What do you mean you don't want to?"

Tiki hissed and crackled again, telling me it wasn't leaving. I pouted slightly. _Why doesn't Tiki want to come down?_ I folded my arms for a moment before hopping towards the stairs. I let out a small sound as I was picked up. Killer was taking up the stairs.

"You scared me," I pouted.

"I didn't mean to," he said. I could hear a smile in his voice.

I couldn't help but smile in return. _I could never be mad at my brothers._ He lightly set me down next to my brother. I turned back to Tiki and tried to understand again.

"Okay, so why wouldn't you come down?"

The flame hissed and crackled, followed by a loud pop.

"No, you are the only flame out."

Another pop followed by hissing.

"No, that's my brother."

More crackling.

"Oh! I get it! No, Tiki, my brother's hair just looks like fire, it isn't actually on fire."

Kid was making a funny face and I giggled. Tiki slowly flowed onto my palm.

"There you go. Do you understand now?" It hissed shortly.

"You can talk to it?"

I looked up at my brother. "Yup! Tiki talks to me and I talk back. He's like a fire den-den mushi, sometimes."

"And it has its own consciousness?" Killer asked.

I nodded. "That's why I call him my demon ember. He can act on his own and he can also listen to people for me." I giggled. "I got him to listen to what the boys plotted when I was still at our island."

-flashback—

I was curled as small as I could and I just barely fit into the burrow. I could hear some of the boys trying to widen the hole, but it was underneath a tree. I was extremely grateful to whatever creature had made it. Suddenly, it was quiet. It seemed like the boys had left, but I didn't trust them.

"Tiki," I whispered.

I concentrated as hard as I could. I barely managed to force the little flame up. I was exhausted from running away. I pointed him to the opening and motioned for him to go check it out for me. It slowly flowed off my palm and towards the hole.

I waited for a couple minutes, unsure of what was happening. Eventually Tiki returned, hissing and crackling as he got closer to me.

"Wait, say it again. I couldn't understand the first part," I pleaded.

He started over, the sounds more drawn out and slower.

"'They are planning on having one person wait here for an hour and then slowly switch around until about midnight. If you have not left by then, they want to flood the hole.' Flood the hole?! But I can't swim…"

The realization dawned on me. That was their plan. They would either drown me (which didn't seem very likely) or they would have the water with them and slowly threaten me with it. Then I would be forced to leave if I didn't want to drown. So no matter what I did, I was caught.

"Tiki, do you think you could help me get out of here?"

He hissed and popped. I smiled lightly. _'I will help you escape, don't worry.'_ Tiki had always been there for me ever since I first made him. I carefully crawled to the opening of the burrow, listening for the boy who was watching me. I heard a quiet sigh. I nodded to Tiki and he flowed out of the hole and up the tree.

I heard loud crackling followed by the boy swearing. I could see him stumble away from the tree. I chose this moment to climb out and run. I knew Tiki would be okay.

I ran until I was finally at the forest's edge. I could see Ella's house and I slowly walked towards it. I sat down heavily once I was there and waited for Tiki to come back. I felt a couple drops of rain against my cheek. I looked up at the sky. _I didn't know it was supposed to rain today…_ I sighed. My eyes were beginning to get heavy, but I refused to sleep until I knew Tiki was back.

It must have been close to ten when I finally noticed a small light moving towards me in the dark. I smiled in relief when he finally flowed onto my palm. "I was beginning to worry about you," I whispered.

He crackled quietly. I giggled slightly at his meaning. _'I do not need to be worried about.'_ I whispered "I know" before standing up. The rain didn't seem to really bother him, and I was thankful for that. There had been more than once that we had been outside when it started to rain. It was almost as if he could control when he acted like a flame. He had to be able to, after all, he never burnt me or any items and he could sit out in the rain. And I knew he hadn't actually burned the tree. He just made it look like it was.

I held Tiki close to my chest as I walked inside where Ella was waiting to punish me for being outside so late and sitting in the rain.

-end flashback—

Tiki crackled louder.

"W-what? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

He crackled again, followed by small pops.

"'I… do not wish to… bother? Bother you further. I shall go away for now.' Okay then."

He flowed onto my palm and slowly shrunk until he disappeared. I closed my hand around the spot he had been in. _I wonder why some things are harder for him to say…_

"Does it need to be in your hand to disappear?"

"Um, I don't think so. It's just what Tiki always does. I like when he comes back to me first, anyways." I looked up at my brothers. "What else do you want to know?"

Kid stared for a moment before turning towards the stairs. "It sounds like the next island is a desert. We'll be there in only a couple days." He ruffled my hair before walking away.

I looked up at Killer now. "Do you have any questions?" I asked.

He was silent for a moment. "Can it burn things?"

I grinned and tried to explain the way Tiki seemed to be able to control his own fire properties.

* * *

Extras:

Girl-luvs-manga- I'm not sure how much longer until Law makes an appearance. Hopefully you won't have to wait too much longer!

Miss Doflamingo- Lol! I know, but why do you think Kid suggested that she went back to the ship? And thank you so much for the OC you gave me!

Shiningheart of ThunderClan- it was more like she had twisted it. It's happened to me before. It hurts like crazy, but it didn't last all that long.

And to all of the other people who read this- I still need some OC ideas. Please send me some for female characters!


	7. Chapter 7: The Desert Island

I stood next to the railing, holding tightly to Killer's hand. I had stopped explaining Tiki to him a little while ago because we were getting close to the island. _It's getting pretty hot. I'm glad heat doesn't really bother me that much._ I was grinning, excited to look at a new place.

"Killer Brother!" I jumped up and down. "Look! We're docking now!"

He patted my head. "Yes we are."

Kid stepped up behind me and picked me up. He set me on his shoulder as the rest of the men stopped behind him.

He turned towards them. "Let's go."

We walked into the town, the sand blowing slightly around us. _I've never seen a desert before… Is this what they all look like?_ The houses were pale colors, almost white, and all the people were wearing weird clothing. The men had large baggy pants that were tight around their ankles and a large turban on their heads. The women either wore clothing that almost completely covered their skin, or there were a few that wore clothes that reminded me of a genie.

"Brother! Can I get genie clothes, too?"

He frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea."

I shook my head. "I'll be okay! I promise to stay near our crew."

He sighed and passed me to Heat. "Make sure nothing happens to her."

He tossed a small bag of money to us as he walked away with the rest of the crew. Killer glanced sideways before he followed. I waved at him and he gave a small nod.

I grinned up at Heat. "Let's go!"

* * *

I looked around the shop with a small frown. "Papa, where are the genie clothes?"

He shook his head slightly. _I wonder if they're kept somewhere separately._ I skipped up to a lady in the genie clothes. I was finally able to walk around again! She looked down at me carefully, glancing at a door in the back.

"Miss, where do I get genie clothes?"

She looked confused. "Genie…? Do you mean the dancer's clothes?" she looked down at her own attire.

I grinned. "Yeah!"

She seemed unsure of my reply. "Well, I, uh, we have some in the back that you may be able to buy… I'm not sure what sizes we have though…"

I was jumping and down. "Could you check please? I would really like to buy one!"

She slowly walked into the back and I ran back to Heat. I was giggling as I grabbed his hand. We only had to wait a few minutes before she came back out with a small boy with short black hair carrying a box.

"Here you are. You may search through the box."

She span around and walked back through the doorway, leaving us with the young boy.

"Hi," I said with a smile.

He stared at the floor, not looking at either of us. I blinked and looked at Heat who shrugged. _Why would he refuse to look at us?_ I shook my head. Maybe the people here just learn things differently.

I started digging through the box. There were all different kinds of colors and sizes of clothing. I happened to find an orange and a dark purple top, but I hadn't found a pair of the pants yet. I sat back and frowned. Why weren't there any pants in the box?

The boy started digging through the box, suddenly. He pulled out a pair of light pink pants. I smiled widely and gave him a hug. I feel him freeze and then start to push me away. I moved away, forgetting about him avoiding looking at us before.

"Sorry," I said sadly.

He looked shocked when I said that. His eyes widened, so I could see the dark brown color before he looked away again. I thought I heard him mutter that it was okay. I smiled slightly. I was glad he wasn't mad at me or anything.

I grabbed the clothing and stepped inside of a changing room. I quickly pulled the clothes on, deciding the orange top wouldn't look as nice. I stepped out for Heat to see. I span around once before looking down at myself. The purple top had yellow stitching on the end of the sleeves and down the front where it was tied. It only covered my top half, leaving my stomach bare. The pants were quite wide, tightening only at the hips and the ankles. I thought it looked really nice.

I grinned at Heat. "What do you think?"

He nodded. I laughed and gave him a hug. The boy was staring at me so I turned to him. He quickly turned his gaze away from me. I wondered if he wasn't allowed to look at the customers.

Heat tugged on my arm. He had passed the money to the boy and he was moving towards the door. _He probably wants to catch up to the rest of the crew._ I tried to walk quicker so we could get back. I tripped over a rock though and fell to the ground.

I'm pretty sure I heard Heat sigh before he picked me up. I giggled quietly and wrapped my arms around his neck. We continued walking until we reached one building. Killer was standing outside, probably waiting for my brother to come back out.

"Killer Brother!"

He looked up at me and I waved. He nodded. Heat stepped next to him, carefully passing me over. I gave Killer a tight hug.

"Did you have fun?" he asked quietly.

I nodded. "Yup! Do you like the clothes I got?"

He looked closer at what I was wearing. "It seems to be showing a bit… We'll have to see what Kid thinks."

I frowned slightly. "But it's okay! I look like a kid, so that makes it less bad." I paused. "Right?"

He sighed. He didn't reply, though. We stood in silence until my brother walked out of the building. He reached out for me and pulled me against him.

"You found some clothes."

He didn't sound too happy though. I looked up at him, a little sad. "Are you going to tell me I shouldn't wear this, either?"

He looked questioningly at me. I pointed to Killer who sighed again. "I did not say that. I said it showed a bit of skin."

Kid looked back down at me. "It does…" He cut me off before I could say anything, "But I didn't say you couldn't wear it."

I smiled widely and gave him a hug. I could hear him chuckle at me. "Thank you, Brother," I mumbled against his chest.

He brushed my hair. "No problem." He looked at the rest of the crew. "Let's go to a bar," he smirked.

He carried me as he walked to the closest bar. It had darker colored walls and a flat roof. When we stepped inside, it was a little hard to see. I could see thick curtains covering the windows and blocking the light out. _I wonder if that makes it cooler inside of here._ I thought about it a bit more. _Is that what all of the buildings do?_

We sat down in the corner of the room like my brother always does. He set me on the seat next to him and Killer sat on my other side. I grabbed his hand and moved closer to him. _I haven't really talked with Killer Brother all that much, have I?_ I had to wonder how different he really had become since we were younger.

Killer glanced down at me, but didn't say or do anything to make me move away. I squeezed his hand lightly and he moved his arm so it was draped around me. I smiled slightly. _Thank you, Killer Brother._ I leaned my head against his body.

A lady in the dancer clothes came up to us at some point to ask what we would like to drink and eat. Killer answered for me since I was falling asleep against him. _They remember what I like._ I was happy they hadn't forgotten.

A few minutes later, the lady brought our food back. She set a sandwich in front of me that had an apple on the side of it along with a glass of lemonade. I reached for the apple, but Kid grabbed it first. I frowned at him and reached for it again.

He laughed. "I thought you remembered what happened with an apple last time."

I let my hand drop. _Oh yeah… I tried to cut it so I could share with my brothers, but I ended up cutting myself…_ I looked back up at Kid. "Am I not allowed to have it then?"

He smirked. "When did I say that?"

He pulled out his dagger and cut it into four pieces. I grinned when he passed it back to me. He kept one for himself and I passed one piece to Killer, leaving me half of the apple. I ate one piece and set the last to the side.

Kid was eating a large piece of meat while Killer leaned back in his chair. _Is he not hungry?_ I hadn't noticed him eat the apple, but he must have since it was gone. I shrugged and went back to my sandwich.

I ate slowly, not feeling very hungry. _Am I getting sick or something?_ I shook myself and finished. The sandwich wasn't as good as Mister Cook's are or how Mister Baker's were. _Maybe I shouldn't have eaten it all…_ I leaned against Killer again, my eyes closed.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

I nodded, not opening my eyes. He sounded a little bit worried about me.

"Do you want to go back to the ship now?"

I sat up and shook my head. _Maybe it'll go away if I do something._ I stood up. "I'm going to go visit Papa."

I grabbed the last apple piece and skipped away, searching the tables for Heat. I could walk, jump, and run just fine as long as I was careful to not move my ankle around too much. I found Heat sitting on the other side of the room. I sat down next to him with a smile and gave him the last piece of apple.

"Hi."

He looked down at me. "Hello, little Presea."

He ate the piece slowly. I leaned against him and watched the rest of the men. They seemed to be having fun, though they weren't as loud as I thought pirates would have been when they're getting drunk. _Maybe my brother told them they weren't allowed to get too out of hand._ That thought made me smile. My brother was amazing. His men listened to every word he said and they never went against him. _I wonder if all pirate captains are like my brother._ I shook my head. I bet there were lots that weren't very good.

My head fell forward and I jerked up. _Am I that tired? But I wasn't tired before…_ I slowly got up and walked back towards Kid. He looked over at me as I got closer.

"Hey," he said, pulling me into his lap. "Tired?"

I nodded, rubbing my eyes. "But I wasn't tired before…"

He looked up for a moment. "Copper!" One of the men from the crew walked over, his black hair covering his eyes. "Take her back to the ship. And don't let anything happen to her," he growled.

I felt a hand grab mine and I was slowly pulled off Kid. I started walking with Copper back to the ship. It was a lot cooler outside now that the sun had gone down. I wasn't as tired now, so I skipped ahead of the man. He watched me carefully though, probably worried that he would feel my brother's wrath if something happened to me.

I giggled and stopped. _I thought I heard something…_ I jumped when I saw a shadow move. I couldn't see anyone. I started walking again, watching the shadows more carefully. I thought I saw something more than once, but it would always disappear.

We were close to the ship now. I could see where it was docked when a few men stepped out into the street. Copper stepped up to me and grabbed my hand. The men looked scary…

"Pirate," the leader sneered, "let the girl go and we will let you live."

He growled. "I will never let anything happen to the captain's sister."

The leader smirked as if he liked the answer he was given. "Then attack."

The men rushed forward, their swords raised. Copper pulled out his own weapon, a long sword that was wider than two of theirs. He slashed, hitting two of the attacking men at once. I summoned Tiki and threw him at one man. He flickered for a moment before growing larger, his heat burning the man he was attached to.

I let two flames grow in my hands. I held them in front of me, keeping the men away. They eyed the flames warily. Tiki attached himself to another man who wasn't paying attention. He let out a scream as the ember began to burn his skin.

I pushed the flames out further as the men turned to see what happened to their friend. The flames caught on the edges of their sleeves and began to burn them as well. I jumped back when they started to fling their arms and put out the fire. My knees were beginning to give out. I wasn't used to using my power very much, but the tiredness was also coming back. _What's making me so tired?_ I sat down heavily on the ground.

Copper was fighting the leader. The rest of the men seemed to have been killed already. I smiled lightly as Tiki slowly flowed over to me. "Thank you, Tiki," I whispered to him.

He popped and crackled. _"There's something wrong with you. Your… blood is heavy."_ I looked questioningly at him.

"What do you mean… it's heavy?"

He popped louder. _"Something's wrong. We will check later."_ He flickered once more before disappearing. I let out a sigh. _What's wrong with me…?_ Copper walked up to me, the leader dead. He helped me stand and took me to the deck.

I let go of his hand. "I want to sit out here for a little while."

He nodded and walked inside the ship. I watched him leave and was about to sit down when something that smelled funny covered my mouth and nose. My vision started to black out as I felt hands grip me to keep me from falling. _Brother…?_

* * *

Kid watched his men drink. His was untouched.

"Kid?"

He looked over at Killer. "Something feels wrong." He frowned.

Killer watched him closely. He had felt it, too, but he couldn't see anything. "Presea…?"

Kid stood up. She had left with Copper a couple hours ago. If someone had done something to his sister, he was going to massacre this village. A growl escaped his lips. Killer stood up as well.

"Shall we go back to the ship?"

Kid nodded stiffly before storming out of the building. Killer nodded to Heat once and followed his captain out.

When they had almost reached the ship, they found a few bodies lying in the street. Most of them had long slashes through their bodies while a few had been burnt. Kid frowned and stomped onto the deck of his ship. He glanced around the deck, but neither Presea nor Copper were on the deck.

Copper stepped out when he heard his captain swear. Kid turned to him with a growl. "Where's my sister?"

Copper looked confused. "She asked to stay on the deck once we got back. She should be inside by now. She is probably asleep," he added as Kid stepped closer.

"What happened to those men?" Killer interrupted.

Copper glanced at him. "They tried to ambush us on our way back. We killed them all. Even her ember was out, burning some of the men."

Kid used his powers to attract the metal on his crewmember's clothes and bring him closer. "You killed all of them?" he hissed, making sure none of the men had come back for her.

Copper nodded. "We killed all of the men, Captain. None of them escaped."

Kid let his powers go and walked into the ship. "Then I'm going to my room. If she's asleep, I'll wait until morning to talk to her."

Killer followed his captain after a few minutes and went to his own room. He frowned when he opened the door. She wasn't inside. He slowly took his helmet off and set it to the side. If she wasn't in his room, she could be in Kid's, or perhaps even Heat's. He tried to fall asleep as he thought about where she could have gone.

* * *

My eyes opened slowly, my vision slightly blurred. _Where am I?_ I tried to move my arms so I could rub my eyes. But they were tied up. My eyes widened and I looked around quickly. _What happened? Why am I not on the ship?_ I was beginning to feel scared.

"Ah, you're finally awake."

I searched the room, looking for the voice. It was an older man, his hair a wispy white. He stepped closer to me and lightly touched my cheek.

"You really are pretty little girl." He smiled, showing me his teeth.

I turned my head away from him. _Who is he?_ He touched my face again. _And why does he keep touching me?!_ He turned my head towards him and grinned.

"I'm glad that medicine I gave you worked." He laughed when he saw my confused look. "I put a little something in your food so you would get tired and leave." He frowned slightly. "Those bounty hunters got in the way of my plan, though…"

I glared at him. _Damn it, my brothers were right when they said I maybe shouldn't wear these clothes._ I felt sad and scared. How long until my brothers would find me? And what would happen to me until then?

He let out a sigh. "It's too bad you bought these clothes." My head jerked up when he spoke. "You are much more memorable wearing these clothes than if you were wearing the other kind or even your regular ones."

He leaned in and kissed my cheek. I tried to turn away from him, but he held onto me.

"I've always liked the little girls…"

I shuddered. _He's a pedophile! I have to get out of here!_ I thrashed around in the chair I was tied to. The man laughed at me.

"And you have a lot of fight. That's even better. Though you won't be able to use your devil fruit powers. There's some seastone laced into the ropes." He looked down at my body. "You even have some curves as well… You must be around 12 or 13, I'm guessing."

I held back my shudder. _I refuse to answer him._ He narrowed his eyes slightly when I didn't reply. He leaned in again, this time moving towards my lips. I screamed before he could kiss me again. He stood back up with a sigh.

"It's not as fun if your screams cover up the rest of the sounds." He started to walk out of the room. "I'll go get the gag, I suppose. Oh, and there's no point wasting your breath. No one can hear you down here."

He grinned once before closing the door and leaving me alone. A tear fell down my cheek. "I wanna see my brothers again," I whispered.

I heard a small thud behind me. I tried to look around, but I couldn't as long as I was tied to this chair. I tugged harder on the ropes and they suddenly fell off. I stared down at them. A small boy moved into my vision and began to untie the ropes holding my legs to the chair legs. I gaped at him until he was done. _It's the boy from the store!_

He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "Let's go before he gets back!" he whispered harshly.

He pulled me over to the corner of the room where there were a few barrels. He moved one slightly and pushed me behind it. There was a small door behind the barrels that was just big enough for us to get through. The boy pulled the barrel back before climbing through and shutting the door. The tunnel was fairly dark when the door was closed.

"Come on," he whispered.

I crawled behind him after he took the lead. I don't know how far we crawled, but it felt like forever until he stopped. He slowly opened a small trapdoor and looked around outside. He threw it open and scrambled out. He held his hand down for me to grab and helped pull me out of the hole.

I looked around when we were outside. I couldn't tell where we were. The boy grabbed my hand again and pulled me down the street. _Where are we going? Is the old man going to come back out?_ I heard a yell and looked behind us. There was a man wearing black pointing at us. The boy pulled me faster as the man a few others started to chase us.

He turned around a corner and we ran head first into someone. I heard the person laugh evilly and the men caught up to us. The boy tried to grab me again, but they threw him to the side. He fell to the ground, unconscious. I tried to throw myself away their hands, and they barely missed me. The person who we had ran into stepped forward.

"Trying to attack a little girl? Fuffuffuffuffu, that's not very manly of you."

I looked up at the extremely tall man. He was wearing a fluffy pink coat that looked like it was made of feathers and he had short blonde hair. The other men looked terrified of him. I saw a small line of light reflecting off what looked like a string. Then the men started attacking each other.

I stared at the men as each one fell to the ground, bleeding heavily. The man grabbed my arm and pulled me up so I was standing. He was crouched down so he was at my height.

"So what were you doing to have seven bounty hunters after you?" he grinned.

My eyes were wide. "I-I don't know…" _He must be dangerous if the men were terrified of him…_

He laughed evilly again. "Yes you do."

He stood up and grabbed me so he was carrying me. I clutched his coat tightly. I was even higher up than I was when I sat on my brother's shoulder. I glanced up at his face. He was still grinning.

"Thank you for helping me, Mister…" my voice was quiet.

He looked at me. "Do you know who I am?" I shook my head. "Fuffuffuffuffu, so that's why you weren't scared. I am Doflamingo, a Shichibukai."

My mouth opened. _He works for the Government?_ He laughed as he looked at me. "I-I didn't know that…" He was walking though the town. I didn't know where we were going. "Um, where are we going, Mister Doflamingo?"

He was still grinning. "Back to your ship." I tensed when he said that. "Fuffuffuffuffu, you didn't think you could keep that information from me, did you?"

He set me carefully on the ground when we were only a block from Kid's ship. I stopped and watched him. _He could have hurt me or taken me to the Marines so they could use me against my brother, but he didn't…_ I walked up to him and gave him a hug. He was so tall though that I was hugging his knees.

He bent down to me. "You know the only reason I didn't take you back was because you look just like a girl that used to be on my ship." I nodded slowly. He laughed again. "And I don't have any orders to go after your brother at the moment. We'll see how that changes next time."

I slowly walked away from him. He exited the street with me and began to walk the opposite direction. "I shall see you again, little flame."

I stared after him for a moment. _He's scary sometimes…_ I walked slowly towards the ship, looking for more bounty hunters and the creepy old man.

"Presea!"

I looked up as Kid and Killer ran up to me. Kid picked me up and held me tightly.

"What the fuck happened to you?"

I started to cry. "A-a creepy o-old man took me."

Kid was looking pissed. "We're going hunting, Killer."

He continued to hold me tightly as they walked through the town.

"What did he look like?" Killer asked.

"H-he has wispy white hair… He said he put something in my food to make me sleepy."

Kid started walking towards the bar we were at the night before. He slammed the door open and stomped up to the counter. "Where's the fucking old man that made her food last night?"

The lady was shaking in fear. "H-he went home-"

"Then where the fuck is his home?" he growled.

She pointed us to the edge of town. I was holding my brother's jacket tightly. "I don't want to see him again…"

He stopped for a second. Killer took me from his arms and I buried my head against him. We continued to walk to where the house was supposed to be.

"Stop!"

I heard a boy's voice. I looked down at the boy who helped me standing in front of Kid. He looked over at me and walked closer, eyeing my brother.

"What are you doing here? Did the hunters not catch you?"

I shook my head. "The tall man helped me. He made the hunters kill each other."

He frowned. "Then what are you doing back here? The old man must be looking for you now."

Kid growled. "Then you know where the bastard is? Show us, boy."

The boy looked warily at my brother. "He'll get rid of the man…" I said quietly.

He looked up at my brother. "My name is James. I will lead you to where he had her hidden."

He span around and walked back the way he came. We followed him down a few different streets before he came to a stop outside a grey, boarded up house.

"This is where he takes all the children he steals. It would be good to finally be rid of the man."

"Ah, there you are, little girl!"

Kid and Killer turned around to look at the old man who was staring at me. I was shaking slightly. He was grinning.

"Now why did you run away?" He saw the boy standing behind us and glared. "James! How dare you take her away! I told you the next time you helped one of them escape I would beat you."

He took a step forward and so did my brother. "So you're the bastard who took my sister," he spat.

The man glared slightly before smiling again. "I didn't take her. I was… helping her."

Kid growled. "Like hell you were." He pulled his dagger out. "You're going to pay for that."

He shot his dagger out, slicing the man's arm. He looked down at the bleeding cut and glared at my brother. "You asshole, you dare to attack me? No one dares to do so!"

The boy ran in front of us and punched the man in the stomach. "That's not true anymore."

He grabbed the boy by the neck and held him in front of his body. He was grinning. "You wouldn't want to hurt the boy, now would you?"

Kid was beginning to fume. "Like I care about some brat."

"Please don't hurt James!" I yelled.

My brother growled. "Fine then."

He attracted his dagger, stabbing the old man in the back. He dropped the boy, shock covering his face. Kid stepped closer and pulled the dagger out of his back. "I'm a pirate. I don't give a fuck about what others do or don't do."

He walked up to me and pulled me into his grasp. I hugged him tightly, ignoring the small bits of blood splattered on his body. He brushed my hair back, trying to sooth me. "He's dead now; you don't have to worry about him."

I nodded against his body. I felt a small tear fall from my eye. I heard someone walking up to us.

"Well that's too bad. I guess I'll just have to tell them the old man was killed, fuffuffuffuffu."

My eyes widened and I looked up to see Doflamingo grinning as he looked down at the bleeding body.

"What are you doing here?" Kid growled.

The tall man looked down at Kid. "I was told to come look into reports of an old man who was kidnapping and raping young girls." He looked over at me. "I see he tried to do the same to your sister."

Kid was holding me tighter. "And what does that have to do with you?"

Doflamingo laughed loudly. "I'm not here for you or your sister." He glanced at Killer. "Or your first mate, for that matter. I was only here for the old man." He turned around and began to walk away. "I shall most likely see you again, Eustass Kid and Presea."

He walked away and it took a minute for Kid to relax slightly. "Let's go."

We walked back to the ship and Kid glared at anyone who looked towards us. They all quickly looked away and continued whatever they were doing.

When we stepped onto the deck, Kid didn't stop to set me down. He walked straight to his room and closed the door before he set me down. He was still looking really pissed off. "Explain what happened."

I looked at the ground. "I was on the deck and I smelled something funny just before I blacked out-"

"Chloroform," Killer interrupted as he stepped into the room.

"When I woke up, I was tied to a chair and he tried to kiss me… So I screamed… When he left, James came in and helped me escape. When we got back outside, bounty hunters began to chase us… We ran into someone and he killed all of the hunters…"

My voice trailed off. Kid frowned deeply. "Who killed them?"

I hid my face. "Doflamingo."

Kid growled and hit his desk. I was shaking slightly. I was afraid he would get mad. I felt Killer touch my arm and I slowly looked up at him. "Did he want anything from you?"

I shook my head slowly. "H-he said he saved me because I looked like someone who used to be on his crew…"

Kid swore. "He knows too much about us. Damn Shichibukai!"

"Kid." He looked up at Killer's voice and then down at me. I was holding onto Killer's leg, trying to hide behind him.

Kid sighed and motioned for me to come closer. I slowly stepped away from Killer and walked up to him. He set me on his knee and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry," he grumbled. "I don't trust any of the Government's dogs. Especially not him." His eyes narrowed. "He likes to see his opponents attack each other."

I nodded slowly. "But he was being nice to me…"

Kid frowned, but Killer interrupted him. "Just because someone is nice does not mean that they really are. They may just be trying to get something from you."

"Okay," I whispered. My brothers knew more than I did, so I had to trust them. _Mister Doflamingo, are you really a bad guy?_

* * *

Extras:

princess123897- Sorry, I was really busy with midterms before. This chapter is quite a bit longer than the last!

10th Squad 3rd Seat- I love Tiki so much! I wish I had my own, too!

Miss Doflamingo- I'll try to update a little more often!

.log- Awesome! Please send me a message about your idea! It doesn't necessarily need to be related to One Piece, it's just nice if it is.

Girl-luvs-manga- Thank you so much! Presea is a lot of fun to write about!


	8. Chapter 8: Mister Doflamingo

I woke up in my brother's bed. He was still sleeping, but he had an arm around my waist. I got up very slowly so I wouldn't wake him again. I looked back at him as I shut the door quietly and left. I padded down the hallway, walking towards Killer's room. _I guess I fell asleep after we talked about Mister Doflamingo._ I still don't know if he really was a bad guy.

I opened Killer's door carefully after knocking. He didn't answer me, so he must have left already. I picked out new clothes for the day, deciding to wear a thin white shirt, dark pink capris, and a tan jacket on top. I didn't want to wear the dancer's clothes again since it reminded me of the creepy old man.

I slipped on sandals just before I left the room. I looked both ways before grinning and running towards the mess hall. I skidded to a stop, threw open the doors and ran up to Killer. He was leaning over a piece of paper when I jumped on him.

"Morning!" I yelled happily.

"Good morning, Presea." He turned back to his paper. "You shouldn't jump on people like that."

"Okay then."

I sat down in the chair beside him and tried to read what he was reading. It said something funny about Mister Doflamingo.

"Killer Brother, why are you reading about Mister Doflamingo?"

He placed a hand under his chin. "I am trying to learn more about him in case we have to fight."

I frowned. I didn't want to have to fight him. He was nice to me, so I wanted to be nice to him. "Why would we have to fight him?"

Killer turned so he was looking at me. "He is a Shichibukai. He's a part of the Government, so we can't trust him."

_But what if he doesn't want to be a part of it anymore?_ I didn't argue with him though. My brothers seemed to know best every other time, so I should listen to them. I jumped up and ran over to Heat when he walked in the door. He picked me up just as I reached him.

I let out a laugh, "Morning, Papa!"

He smiled slightly. "Good morning, little Presea."

He walked back towards Killer.

"Killer Brother, are we going back out today?"

"Yes. I need to get something metal for you," Kid said as he walked in.

"You're awake, Brother!"

He smirked. "Well it is almost noon now."

I was surprised. "I thought I woke up earlier than that…"

He chuckled quietly, taking me from Heat's grasp. "Eat, and then we'll head out."

"Okay!"

He set me down and I rushed off to get my food.

* * *

"Kid. Are you sure it's a good idea to take her out today?" Killer asked his captain.

He frowned. "She's the only one on the crew that doesn't have something metal. She'll need it for when we go over Reverse Mountain."

Killer nodded. "And Doflamingo…?"

Kid growled. "I won't let that bastard take my sister."

* * *

I ate my food quickly, though I had to slow down a little bit when Killer told me to. Kid laughed at me, saying there was no need to hurry. He was right; it wasn't like the shops would disappear. As soon as I was done, I ran to the kitchen to thank Mister Cook and then went to sit on the deck while I waited for my brothers.

They were taking a while, so I brought Tiki out. He was mad at me…

"I know, I'm sorry…"

He hissed and crackled loudly. _"I told you something was wrong! You should not have left the man's side. You would have been safe as long as you were with someone! Remember that next time I give you a warning."_

I bowed my head. "I know… I will…"

The flame flicked higher for a moment. _"I realize you know. Your brothers tell you things to keep you safe, and so do I. Remember that."_

"Yes, Tiki," I replied sadly.

He disappeared as my brother stepped closer. "What was that about?"

I got up and hugged him. "Tiki was mad at me for not listening better when he said something was wrong…"

Kid picked me up and stared at me. "It can tell that?"

I nodded. "Tiki said there was something wrong with my blood, so he was probably sensing whatever it is the o-old man gave me…"

Killer spoke up while Kid was frowning. "Can he appear on his own? It would be able to protect you better that way."

I tilted my head. "I don't know. He's never needed to before."

Killer nodded slightly and Kid shook his head. "Let's go."

* * *

We wandered around town for a little while, searching for a place that would have something metal for me. I didn't really understand why I needed it, but if my brother thought it was necessary, then it probably was.

"What about a bracelet?" I chirped.

Kid looked at Killer who shrugged slightly. He looked up at the shop I was pointing at. He smirked. "Let's have a look then."

When we walked in, a little bell dingled. A lady walked out from the back and looked surprised when she saw us.

"We want to see bracelets for her," Kid jerked his head towards me.

"Please," I added.

He frowned down at me and I grinned back. I saw his lips twitch with a smile as he placed a hand on my head.

"O-of course!"

The lady rushed back into the back, returning with a long, flat box. She set it down on the counter and opened it. Killer picked me up so I could see. There were so many different kinds! There were little ones, curly ones, big brace ones, and tons more! I pulled out a couple that looked like a wire wrapping around. It was pretty, but I put it back.

I grabbed the big brace one next. It was small enough that it wouldn't slip around much while I was wearing it. It was pretty, too. There were little vines that stuck up slightly as they curled around. I grinned as I looked up at my brother.

"You want that one?"

I nodded quickly. "It's pretty!"

He smiled slightly before turning back to the lady. She still looked like she was surprised.

"It's free for her!" she exclaimed.

Kid frowned. "Why?"

I found it strange that she would just give it away, too. She looked between my brothers and then down at me.

"You got rid of that nuisance of a man. We can finally go about our lives without needing to worry about our children so much."

I grinned. "Yay! Thank you, Miss!" I twisted around to look at Killer and almost gasped when I saw someone walk past the window. "Can you let me down, Killer Brother?"

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I raced to the door. "Presea!" he yelled at me.

"I'll be right back!"

I ran outside. I stopped to look for the man I saw. I saw a flash of pink as it went around a corner and I ran after it. I almost ran into the man for the second time in two days as I rounded the corner.

"Fuffuffuffuffu, and what do you need, little girl?"

I frowned. "I'm not a little girl. I'm seventeen!"

He had his hands in his pockets as he looked down at me. "So I see. Why have you come running after me, Eustass Presea?"

I wrapped my arms around his knees. "I wanted to say thank you again, Mister Doflamingo."

He crouched down so he was closer to my height. "You know, it's dangerous to run off on your own." His voice was beginning to get scary.

I smiled at him. "But you're a nice man. I don't think you'd take me; you saved me last time. Besides, I don't know if you like having to listen to the Government anyways."

He laughed. "No, it's true. I don't listen to them anyways. However, it lets me go around doing what I want."

I grinned. "Kind of like being a pirate, but with more freedom!"

He placed his hand on my head with a grin. "Just like that."

He picked me up as someone ran around the corner. I saw Killer bring his blades out as Kid got angry.

"What are you doing with my sister, bastard?" he growled.

Doflamingo was still grinning. "Nothing special."

"Don't hurt Mister Doflamingo!" I yelled as my brother raised his hand.

Kid glared at me. "The bastard deserves to die before he comes back for us."

Doflamingo had raised his hand while we were talking. I saw the small glint of light like last time as my brothers suddenly moved. Kid was looking angry and confused.

"What the hell kind of trick is this?"

Doflamingo laughed. "It's my devil fruit. Now, what to have you do…"

I summoned Tiki and let him slide down the invisible lines holding my brothers. He flickered once he was closer to them, making the lines go slack.

"Don't make my brothers hurt each other," I whispered to him.

He set me down on the ground and I ran over to my brothers. Kid grabbed my hand, pulling me away as I told him they couldn't fight each other. I looked back to Doflamingo and waved.

"Bye Mister Doflamingo!"

He grinned. "Fuffuffuffuffu, I will see you again, little flame."

* * *

Doflamingo watched the happy girl walk off with her brothers. He could almost see another girl in her place, one with shorter hair that had come up to his knees as well. His grin faltered for the first time since he had saved the girl.

"Little spark," he whispered.

* * *

Kid sat heavily in his chair and glared at me. "You shouldn't have done that."

I hung my head. "I know… But I had to see Mister Doflamingo again…"

"He could have taken you," Killer added.

"But he said he didn't like working for the Government!"

Kid was still frowning. "What have we told you about that?"

I sighed. "People could be lying to me so they can get something from me."

"Exactly. Now come over here."

I walked over to my brother's chair and he picked me up, setting me in his lap. "I want you to stay close to someone from the crew at all times from now on."

"Yes Brother."

He nodded and set me down. "Now go eat. It's starting to get late."

I walked out of the room. Killer had stayed behind, so they were probably going to talk about something. I decided that I would go sit on the deck for a while after I had eaten.

* * *

"What do you think he wants from her?" Killer asked quietly.

Kid ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know. The bastard had two chances to take her, but he didn't. What's he planning?"

* * *

I was lying on the deck. Mister Cook had made stew for everyone, but it had tomatoes in it. I brought Tiki out since he would eat them for me. Other than that, supper was really good!

I sighed and rolled over onto my side. Tiki blinked at me, the dark spots disappearing for a moment. I giggled at him; Tiki was the closest one to me. Well, besides my brothers. Then again, there were things I hadn't told my brothers.

"Tiki, do you think I should tell them what happened?" I whispered.

The flame darkened. _"It is your choice. Realize how it'll feel when you talk about it, but also think about whether they would need to know."_

I sighed. Was there never an easy answer?

-flashback—

I was leaning heavily against the wall the boys had me cornered to.

"Now you have nowhere to run, so why don't you just come with us?" the tallest one sneered.

"No! My brothers wouldn't want me to do that!" I yelled back at him.

He was getting mad at me. The second boy spoke up. "Your brothers aren't always right, you know. Did he ever tell you why we started hurting him?"

I shook my head. A third boy laughed. "She's defending him and she doesn't even know what he's done!"

"Shut up," the tallest boy snapped. He crouched so he could look me in the eye. "He killed our pets when we were all younger."

"No! I don't believe you!" My brother wouldn't do something mean like that unless he had a reason.

He grabbed my shoulder and pushed me into the wall. "The jerk killed our pets _for fun_. He said so himself." I saw the glint of a blade in his other hand. "We just want to pay him back for that."

He put cuts into my shoulders and along my waist, three for each spot. My screams echoed around me.

-end flashback—

I was shaking slightly as I remembered. I wiped my eyes, making sure no tears had fallen. I felt warmth against my chest and saw Tiki sitting closer to me.

"_It still hurts. But it's healing."_ I glanced at my shoulders. _"I do not know how long until those are gone, however."_

I nodded sadly. I still had scars from that blade: three on each shoulder, three on each side of my waist. I had never told Ella. Tiki was the only one who knew. I couldn't hide anything from him, though. I continually asked him about the scars when we were at home, but the answer was always the same: _I don't know how long until they're gone._

"Tiki, do you think that could be why I never grew up?"

He was red and orange again. He crackled quietly. _It could be. You never had someone who watched you as you grew. And, I believe that… experience affected your mind. You may be stuck on that idea until you let it go. However,_ he interrupted me before I could say something. _I think it mostly has to do with your brother. Understandably, you didn't want to change because you knew he loved you the way you were before he left."_

I smiled slightly. "Yeah. And I'll be able to watch him when he becomes Pirate King now that I'm on his ship!"

I bet Tiki would have rolled his eyes if he could. Instead, he climbed onto my stomach once I had rolled onto my back. I could feel a steady pulse of heat come from him as he did. I was lost in my thoughts again.

_Could Mister Doflamingo have actually been lying to me?_ I shook my head. _But it didn't feel like he did. I saw sadness in his eyes when I left last time. Does he miss someone who looks like me, maybe?_ I tilted my head to the side. _Does that mean he'll come after me one day simply because he misses the other person? But I don't want to leave my brothers…_

"What are you doing?"

I jumped when I heard Killer's voice. "Killer Brother! You scared me!" I pouted.

I could hear him chuckle quietly. "I'm sorry. So what are you doing?"

"Lying on the deck." _And thinking._

"And…?"

I frowned. "It's not fair you can always tell what I'm thinking!"

He brushed my hair back. "It's not my fault you're so open with your emotions. Now what's bothering you?"

I shook my head. "I don't wanna talk about it. You won't believe me anyways…"

He sat down next to me with a sigh. "What makes you think that?"

"You didn't even think Mister Doflamingo might not be lying to me." I covered my mouth. I didn't mean to let it out like that.

"Then why do you think he helped you?"

I frowned. "I looked like someone he knew. That's what he told me. And he looked sad…"

"What do you mean by that?"

_I think I confused Killer Brother…_ "When I looked back at him before we left, he wasn't grinning like always. I think he misses someone."

Killer shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense." He stood up. "And it isn't that we haven't considered he was telling the truth. We have to consider the worst case."

I nodded. "Okay then, Killer Brother."

"Are you still mad at us?"

I gasped. "I was never mad at you or Brother!" I jumped up and hugged him tightly. "I could never be mad at my brothers," I mumbled against him.

I felt his hand on my back. "Go talk to Kid."

I ran inside, looking for my brother. I stopped at his room, but no one answered. I went to the mess hall next, but Mister Cook said he already left. I frowned and crossed my arms.

"Where could he have gone, Tiki?"

The flame flicked on my shoulder. _Shower._

I shook my head slightly and ran back to his room. I opened the door slowly, but Tiki had been right. I could barely hear the water running. I knocked on the door to the shower and opened it. "Brother? Are you in here?"

"Presea?" I heard the water shut off and I saw him step out with a towel around his waist. "What is it?"

I walked up to him, careful not to slip in the water. I gave him a hug. "I wasn't mad at you before."

He sighed and knelt. "I didn't think you were."

"I'm sorry, Brother. I just thought you and Killer Brother were being unfair to Mister Doflamingo, even though he helped me…"

He wrapped his arms around me. "I don't trust him, and he has given me no reason to. I've heard about what he has done to people, so I refuse to let my guard down around him." He pulled away and looked at me. "You're going to have to change your shirt," he said with a smirk.

I looked down at myself. My shirt and jacket were both wet, though my jacket was the worst. He pulled me out to his room. He pulled his pants on before turning back to me.

"Let's take off your jacket before you start to get cold."

He pulled the shoulder down and I saw him pause to stare at something. My eyes widened slightly and I pulled my jacket up. "I-I can do it. I'm going to go back to Killer Brother's room!"

I ran out, trying to calm my shaking.

* * *

Kid stared at the door his sister had left through. He frowned, thinking about what he had seen. There was a long, wide cut that wasn't covered by her shirt. He tried to remember if she had it before, but he couldn't recall it from their past.

"And she's been wearing long sleeves or jackets the whole time, hasn't she?" he muttered to himself.

He glanced at his hand. The small flame had appeared on the shoulder his hand was on, and it felt almost like it had tried to bite him.

"What the hell happened to her?"

* * *

I stopped at Killer's room just long enough to change into a long sleeved black shirt. I ran to the mess hall next, wanting to be around others in case my brother tried to ask me about my scars. _I have to calm down; I have to calm down…_ I was still shaking slightly. I was afraid of what my brother would say if he knew what had happened to me.

"_Stop running around randomly. Stand still for a moment and think. Your brother will probably visit Killer, so where is the next best place to stay?"_ Tiki scolded me.

I stopped running for a moment to think. I saw someone walk by and I ran up to them. " Papa!"

He stopped walking and looked down at me. "Yes, little Presea?"

I looked around. "What are you doing now?"

He blinked. "I am going to my room."

I got a great idea. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Why?"

_I need an excuse…_ "Because I haven't stayed with you before!"

He lightly grabbed my hand. "Only if your brother says it's okay."

I shook my head. "He was in the shower. Can we ask Killer Brother?"

He nodded and we walked to the mess hall. _Please be there by yourself…_ Heat opened the door and I saw Killer. He looked over at us and stood up.

"Do you need something?"

Heat nodded. "She wants to stay with me."

Killer looked down at me. "And why would that be? You know Kid said you weren't supposed to stay with anyone besides the two of us."

"But Papa won't let anything happen to me!"

He put his hand on my head and looked at me closely. "I don't know what's bothering you, but if you need to stay somewhere else that badly, I won't stop you," he whispered to me. He turned to Heat. "She can stay with you. Just don't let anything happen to her."

Heat and I walked back to his room where Mister Cook was already sitting. I gave him a hug and he laughed. They stayed up a little longer to tell me stories about what had happened to my brothers after they had become pirates. My eyes began to get heavy in the middle of one of the stories and Heat set me on one side of his bed to sleep.

* * *

Kid opened the door to Killer's room and swore. Killer looked up at him, confused with his sudden appearance. "What is it?"

"Where's Presea?" he asked quickly.

Killer frowned under his helmet. "She asked to stay with Heat, so I let her." He watched Kid's expression closely. "What's wrong?"

He ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. "She has a scar on her shoulder and she ran away before I could ask her about it."

"Just one?" Killer was confused. "I wouldn't be surprised if she had one-"

"But I don't know if it is just one!" Kid growled. "And it wasn't a small line either. I could see how wide it was, and it was a perfect cut. Someone must have done that to her when we weren't there."

"The boys."

Kid was thinking the same thing. "Damn it," He hit his fist on the wall. "I knew we shouldn't have left her there…"

Killer crossed his arms. "You know it would have been dangerous for her if she had. That's why we decided she would stay there until we were strong enough to have her come along."

"Damn it… I know that! But she…" Kid sighed heavily. He glared at Killer. "I need to find out what happened to her. And I need to know if she has other scars from them, too."

Killer nodded and his captain left the room, slamming the door. He placed his hand on the side of his helmet. "What happened to you, Presea…?"

* * *

And because .log was asking… Here's a small little explanation!

* * *

-Doflamingo's Past—

He placed his feet up on his desk. It had been a boring day for his crew. Then again, he couldn't exactly plunder the town until they were almost ready to leave. No reason to give the Marines extra time to catch them all.

"Captain, there's a small child out here that keeps hanging around the deck."

He got up from his chair, a grin ever-present on his face. "Then I should go see what it wants."

He walked past his crew and looked down to find what the man had been talking about. Indeed, there was a small child running around. Her pink hair was pulled into two ponytails and she was completely oblivious to everything around her. He jumped down from the deck, landing quietly next to her. She looked up at the extremely tall man with a smile.

"Hi Mister! Are you a pirate? My name's Sarah."

_She isn't afraid of me at all,_ he thought. He crouched down next to her with his grin. "The name's Donquixote Doflamingo, and yes, I am a pirate. In fact, you're standing right next to my ship."

She looked up at the massive ship, her mouth forming a small 'o.' "Wow! That's so cool!" She looked behind her when she heard a woman yelling. "Bye Mister Doflamingo!"

She ran to the woman who then grabbed her hand and walked away.

It wasn't the last time he saw the girl. The next day, he had been walking through the town and she had run up to him, asking a few more questions before running off again. On the third day after they had met, he decided they had been at the island long enough.

"Time for a bit of fun," he grinned.

He nodded and his men rushed off the docks, quickly turning the town into a battlefield. He used his devil fruit powers to force a few of the townsfolk to fight each other. He sat down on a crate, laughing at the expressions of those who were forced to kill their own people. He turned around when he heard a girl's scream.

"Leave him alone! You are the bad ones, not him!"

He was surprised to see the small girl, Sarah, was trying to keep someone from fighting him. He laughed at the silly girl. He made one of the townsfolk he controlled to walk over to the man, killing him swiftly. The girl fell to her knees and stared blankly at him.

"I can protect myself," he whispered when he crouched next to her, his voice cold and hard.

She shook herself. "B-but they called the Marines! They'll be here soon and they'll try to capture you!"

He stood up and brushed his pants off. "Is that so? I suppose we should get ready to go then." He looked at his crew as they fought. "Time to go men!"

A cry went up from the crew as they swiftly ended their battle. Doflamingo watched his men head on deck first, pausing when he felt something around his leg. He looked down to see the little girl tugging on his pant leg.

"Mister Doflamingo, will I ever see you again?"

He crouched down so he could look her in the eye. "In the papers you can."

"But… I'll never be able to see you here again?" her voice was small and sad.

_A child that's sad to see a pirate leave… how interesting._ "Fuffuffuffuffu, I think it would be best if you ran back to your family."

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around one of his. "Momma hit me the last two times I talked to you. She said you were bad, but I know she's wrong. She said she'd hurt me worse next time it happened."

He rolled an idea around in his head. _It may help us obtain information on other islands…_ He picked the girl up suddenly and walked onto his ship. "Would you rather never see her again, or never see me?" he asked curiously.

"Her. I don't want you to go…"

He laughed loudly. "Then I suppose you've now joined my crew."

* * *

At the next two islands, Doflamingo used the girl to get information from the inhabitants that they would normally refuse to give to pirates. The girl happily did everything he asked of her, never questioning his orders.

Doflamingo had his feet resting on his desk as he watched the little girl draw on the floor. _Why did I pick her up in the first place? Would it not have been easier to kill her or even just leave her behind?_

Sarah held up her picture. "Look! It's your picture!"

"Fuffuffuffuffu, I see you drew my jolly roger."

It was a little lopsided, but it was easy to tell what it was. _She seems to believe every word I say and thinks about nothing besides being a pirate on my crew._ She got up and jumped on him. He could hear her giggling as she buried her face in his jacket.

"And what are you doing now?"

She looked up at him and grinned. "Hiding! My hair's the same color as your coat!"

She held it up just to prove it. He chuckled at how silly she looked.

"Mister Doflamingo, where are we going next?"

"Fuffuffuffuffu, an island that will be lots of fun."

She clapped her hands. "I can't wait!"

* * *

"Captain, we've reached the island."

He stood up and grabbed the little girl. "Time to head out, little spark."

She looked confused. "Little spark? But my name's Sarah!"

He grinned at her. "Yes, but it's my name for you since I can see the spark in your eyes every time you hear my orders."

She smiled back at him. "Oh! I get it now!"

He set her on the deck and crouched down. "Now, I want you to as around for information while we're here about anything special on the island. Got it?"

She nodded quickly. "Got it!"

He watched her run into the town, weaving around the people.

* * *

"Time to leave! Where's Sarah?" he yelled as his men were ransacking the village.

No one answered him. _Damn, I guess I'll have to search for her._ He walked past the people, sometimes making them attack each other. He grinned at the futile attempts a few of the villagers tried to kill him with. _Weak, they're all weak._

He turned around a corner and heard a quiet whimper.

"Now, you're going to tell me all about your captain, or else I'm going to start hurting you," a man said.

"B-but… I won't hurt Mister Doflamingo!"

The man laughed. "You won't. I will."

"Who will be doing what now?" Doflamingo spoke up.

The man turned around and picked the girl up, holding a knife to her throat. "Don't come any closer, or I'll kill her."

"Fuffuffuffuffu, that won't protect you."

The man was looking desperate. His eyes were running over everything, looking for some way to escape. Sarah bit him and ran when he dropped her. Doflamingo watched her drop with a thud and looked past her at the man whose arm was outstretched from throwing the knife.

His grin vanished, replaced by anger. "You'll pay for that, bastard," he hissed.

The man quickly tried to run away, but Doflamingo used his powers and forced the man to walk back to him. He watched as he made the man slowly kill a few of the villagers before letting him stop.

"S-stop it!" He tried to struggle against his bindings.

His hand raised and fell, cutting one leg open. Doflamingo was furious. "Not until you have died a slow and painful death."

The man's screams echoed in the streets for a few minutes before he finally died. Doflamingo slowly walked back to the small girl's body and turned her so she was facing the sky. He moved her hair out of her face with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, little spark…"

* * *

Doflamingo sat at his desk, staring at the picture of his jolly roger that had been drawn the day before. He was grinning constantly now, but it faltered as he looked at the drawing.

"Captain," one man said as he opened the door. "We're ready to leave."

He raised his head to look at him with a grin. "Then we can go."

He closed his eyes after the door shut. _I guess it was true, little spark. You won't be able to see me again._

Extras:

.log- Thank you! And I don't think he is either. That's why I believe he would have just left her there instead of actually taking her in. And I have no idea why Fanfiction keeps deleting the first half of your name...

MsWildLuck- We're getting closer! We shall be in the Grand Line soon!

10th Squad 3rd Seat- He is definitely very interesting…

Girl-luvs-manga- I loved the bounty hunter part! And I definitely can't wait to write about her meeting Law!

Miss Doflamingo- I'm so happy that you like it! I hope the rest of the chapters are good, too!

zdenkac09- I do too! I'm so jealous of Presea :p he he

TwilightMelodiac- Thanks! I'll try to update a little quicker next time.

Guest user- Yes, yes, she will, but it's impossible for someone to change so quickly. But she is changing! I can see it, so hopefully you can, too.


	9. Chapter 9: The Grand Line

I jerked awake. _What was that?_ I think I had a dream about something, but I couldn't remember. _I wonder if it was something important…_ I sat up and looked around the room. _This isn't Killer Brother's room- wait… I went to bed with Papa because Brother saw my…_ My eyes widened. I swiftly checked my shirt to make sure my shoulders were still covered. _Good. I don't want anyone to see them. It's my reminder of what… went wrong…_ I shook myself and brought my knees to my chest.

I sat like that for a few minutes. It looked like it was still fairly early, but I think Heat was an early riser, so he would probably be up soon. I only had to wait another couple minutes for him to open his eyes and sit up.

"Little Presea, could you not sleep?"

I shook my head. "I just woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. I must be excited for when we go over to the Grand Line!" I grinned.

Heat got out of bed and picked me up. I think we were going to eat, but I wasn't sure since he hadn't told me. _Please don't say Brother came to talk to him after I fell asleep…_ I almost sighed in relief when we stopped at the mess hall. I saw Killer sit down with a plate of food. _So this is how early Killer Brother gets up, too?_ Heat set me in the chair next to him.

"Morning!"

"Morning," he replied quietly.

I frowned slightly. "Is something wrong, Killer Brother?"

He turned his head to look at me for a moment. "No."

_Okay then…_ I wasn't convinced, but if he didn't want to talk about it, I wasn't going to make him. I looked up at Heat when he set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me. "Thank you, Papa!"

He nodded in reply and sat down to eat his own food. _I wonder what's wrong today…_ It seemed like both Heat and Killer had something that was bothering them. _I wonder how I'm going to act around Brother today… I don't want to avoid him, but I'm afraid to show him…_ I brought my knees to my chest again when I pushed my plate away.

"Is something wrong?" Killer asked.

I shook my head. I knew he would understand that I didn't want to talk about it. I felt him place a hand on my head.

"Don't hold it in for too long," he whispered.

I got up after he did and walked into the kitchen. _That's right, I was supposed to help in the kitchen as my job._ I looked around and ran up to Mister Cook. "Mister Cook! Can I help wash dishes?"

"Eh? I suppose so. No one's ever been excited to wash the dishes before…"

I laughed. "But I like washing them! And Tiki helps a lot, too!"

I summoned Tiki and set him on the counter. _"It's been a while since I have last eaten. Perhaps I should take in more than I have been."_

I nodded. "Then maybe I'll bring you out more. I don't think Mister Cook would mind if you helped sometimes."

I grinned when he nodded. "Aye, that little flame of yours makes cleaning so much easier."

It looked like Tiki rolled his eyes. _"I am not doing it just to clean…"_ He started to take the food off of the pans anyways. _"Have you decided what you are going to do about those things?"_ He asked after a few minutes.

I looked up from my washing. "Um…" I glanced towards Mister Cook. I didn't want him hearing about it.

"_Then wait to tell me until later. Though I think I know what you will say."_

We went back to cleaning in silence. I was trying to think of what I would do, but it was impossible. There didn't seem to be an answer for me. When I finished with the dishes, Mister Cook told me I could leave. He said I should go out and do something else instead of being cooped up in the kitchen.

I walked out onto the deck after looking around to see if my brother was around. He had decided we would leave last night so we would be closer to the Grand Line today. I sat down against the railing near the front of the ship. I didn't want someone to be able to sneak up behind me and listen in on mine and Tiki's conversation.

Tiki fell from my shoulder to sit on the deck. _"So what have you decided?"_

I frowned sadly. "I don't know. I don't want to avoid Brother, but I can't tell him… It hurts too much to even think about it…"

Tiki nodded. _"But it will need to be spoken eventually. You do not want it to ruin your time now that you have found your brothers."_

"I know… but Brother…"

"_He will understand. Do you really think he will abandon you just because of the boys? He was the one who never left your side when you were young. Or is it because of what they told you?"_

I knew what Tiki meant. "They said… it was his fault… That they were after me… just because he hurt them…" I shook my head and covered my face. "Tiki, they had to be lying! Brother wouldn't-" I stopped myself from saying it.

"I wouldn't what?"

I slowly turned around to see him towering over me. I tried to make myself smaller. I was afraid of him right now. "Nothing," I whispered.

He reached down to pick me up. I locked my joints, keeping my body in a ball. He was trying to look me in the eye, but I was avoiding it. "Why won't you tell me?"

"I don't wanna talk about it…"

He sighed heavily. "If something happened, I need to know about it. Come on, Presea…"

"It hurts," I whispered.

Kid carried me back inside and stepped into his room. He shut the first door, and then the second one when we were in his bedroom. He carefully set me on the bed and crossed his arms. "Presea."

I shook my head at his voice. I remembered the last time he used that voice- the one where he wasn't asking, he was telling.

-flashback—

"Brother!" I yelled, running up to him.

He was just coming back from the forest. Killer had gone with him, but I couldn't see him anywhere. He stooped down to pick me up as I reached him. I gave him a tight hug and tried to look around his body.

"Where's Killer Brother?"

"He's coming. Let's get back inside."

I watched the forest until he walked inside, our home blocking my view. He set me down on our bed and stared to move some stuff around. "When will he be back?"

He turned around and frowned. "I said it would be later. He's busy right now."

I nodded. "Okay, Brother…"

I was worried about Killer the later it became. I kept glancing at my brother, but he wasn't doing anything. I stood up slowly and when he wasn't looking at me, I ran outside.

"Presea!" I heard him yell.

I quickly climbed the tree that was near our home and tried to see if I could find Killer, but I still couldn't see him.

"Presea."

I looked down at my brother. He was frowning with his arms crossed. He crooked his finger towards me and I slowly climbed back down until I was just above him.

"I told you he was busy."

I was sad. "B-but what if the boys got Killer Brother?"

He sighed. "They won't have-"

"They wouldn't have caught me."

I gasped. "Killer Brother!"

I jumped down and ran over to him. I wrapped my arms around him, burying my head against his stomach. I felt him brush my hair back. "You didn't need to worry about me."

I know," I mumbled.

"And don't run away like that again," Kid scolded.

"I'm sorry, Brother…"

-end flashback—

I felt tears build up in my eyes. _I don't like when Brother gets mad at me…_ I heard the door open quietly.

"Kid."

"She won't answer me." Kid sounded frustrated.

I felt someone sit on the edge of the bed. I almost jumped back when Killer pulled me into a hug. I let go of my tears as he hugged me.

"Why don't you want to talk about it?" Killer asked carefully.

"I-it hurts."

He started to rub my back. "Why does it hurt?"

"T-they said…" I lowered my voice because I was afraid of what my brother would think, "it's Brother's fault it happened."

I felt Killer tense. "How would it be his fault?"

"They said Brother killed their pets, so they wanted r-revenge…" I cried a little harder, but I tried to be quiet. "I-I can s-still feel it…"

"The blades?" he asked quietly.

I nodded. _It hurt so much…_ I fell Tiki appear on my stomach. His warmth pulsated through my body. _"Don't let it take over you."_

"Can you show us?" I shook my head quickly. Killer tried again. "Please show us. We won't be mad."

I sniffed slightly. "…Promise?"

I heard Kid sigh. "I would never be mad at you for what they've done."

I buried my head against Killer and slowly pulled one shoulder of my jacket down for them to see. I heard Kid growl and felt Killer tighten his grip on me. I whimpered quietly when I felt a hand brush against the scars.

"The bastards," Kid hissed.

I pulled my jacket back up and gripped Killer's shirt.

"Did they give you scars elsewhere?"

I nodded carefully. "M-my other shoulder and my sides…"

"How many scars did they give you?"

"Three in each spot," I spoke barely above a whisper.

I was afraid of what they would say to me. _Would Brother be mad at me too, for letting it happen? Would Killer Brother be disappointed that I didn't stop them? Would they believe it was my fault, not the boys?_ I had blocked those fears out for three years, ever since I had received the scars.

I felt Killer rock back and forth slightly. "It's okay," he mumbled.

I slowly relaxed in his arms until I fell asleep.

* * *

Killer stopped rocking once the girl had fallen asleep. Kid was pacing, trying to control his anger.

"Those _bastards_," he hissed.

Killer lightly set the girl down on the bed. "They told her it was your fault. Because you killed their pets."

Kid scoffed. "Those bastards would have used any excuse." He looked away when Killer stared at him. "Yeah, I killed their pets. But they had thrown stones at me when she couldn't even walk yet," he spat. "They could have hurt her when she was still a baby."

Killer sighed quietly. "And so she suffers from their egos." He couldn't believe they would have been chasing after her this whole time to simply carve her skin. Killer was disgusted by the thought.

Kid walked over to the bed to look down at his sister. "Maybe we really should have brought her along," he mumbled. He placed the small white bear he had held onto into her hands.

Killer stood up and walked to the door. "Perhaps don't leave her here alone. She may think we left if she wakes up alone."

Kid sat down heavily on the bed. He watched her face as he lightly touched the spot where her scars were. Her face contorted as if she was in pain. Kid felt a bite on his hand and he pulled it away quickly. He glared at the small ember sitting on her side. "What the hell are you doing out?" he growled.

The flame flickered and he could make out some of its words. _"Did not… go away…"_

Kid scoffed and laid on his back. "Damn ember, stop biting me."

* * *

I woke up clutching the soft fur of my brother's coat. _What happened…?_ I rubbed my eyes and sat up slightly. Now I remembered. _Killer Brother made me fall asleep and he must have left me on Brother's bed…_ I looked down at my brother. He looked so peaceful.

I tried to get up so I wouldn't disturb him. "Where are you going?"

I froze at his voice. "Um… I don't know." I couldn't come up with an excuse.

He sat up and looked at me. "We should talk."

I hung my head. "Yes Brother."

He lifted my chin up and looked me in the eye. "…I'm not mad at you."

I crawled over so I was sitting in his lap. I felt him place an arm around me. I heard a small sigh before he started speaking again.

"They're lucky we're this far away from the island, or else I'd go back there and rip their bodies to shreds," he growled.

I pictured what he would do and laughed slightly, a few tears spilling from my eyes. Kid carefully brushed my hair back.

"I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at what they did _to_ you," he mumbled.

The tears I had been holding back for so long began to fall, and I buried my head in the edge of his jacket. It had haunted me for these few years, especially the thoughts about how my brothers would react. _Why did I ever think they would be mad at me…?_ I knew it was silly, but I had been terrified.

"I won't let anyone do something like that to you again. This time, I will not leave you behind."

"Thank you, Brother," I whispered.

* * *

We had gotten up an hour later. Kid hadn't said anything further, but I knew he understood.

When we stepped out onto the deck, I hid behind him. Most of the crew was standing on the deck and I was still feeling uncomfortable after our talk. Kid placed his hand against me, trying to make me feel better.

I almost jumped when Killer appeared behind me. He held his hand out to me, but I was holding Kid's jacket. He picked me up and I slowly released the jacket to hide against Killer.

"You don't need to be nervous," Killer mumbled to me.

I nodded, but didn't reply. _Everything feels… different now that they know._ I tried to ignore the new feeling I had around more people. _It's just the crew…_ I looked over to where everyone else was looking. I could see massive rocks sticking of the ocean.

"Killer Brother, what's that?" I asked in awe.

"That would be Reverse Mountain."

I was passed to Kid as Killer walked back inside. I could see the men getting ready for something, but I wasn't sure what for. "Brother, what's going on?"

He was watching the mountain closely. "It will be dangerous getting to the other side."

I tightened my hold on him. "But we'll be okay, right?"

He looked down at me with a smirk. "Of course," he scoffed.

His strong belief in his ship and crew comforted me. _If Brother thinks we'll be okay, then we will be._ He set me down and started giving orders to different men. I stood close to the wall, staying out of their way. I saw Killer come back out onto the deck holding my bracelet.

"Make sure you put this on. Just in case."

He ruffled my hair before placing the metal in my hands and rushing towards the rest of the men to help prepare the ship. I slipped it on carefully, making sure it was fastened tightly. I wasn't sure why I was supposed to wear it or what "just in case" meant, but I wouldn't question him. I trusted my brothers, especially after they had learnt about my scars.

I looked up at the mountain as we stood outside of it. _It will be dangerous…?_ I was glad I was travelling on my brother's ship. I would be much more scared if I was on another ship.

Kid walked up to me with a grin. "We're going to go up now."

I grabbed his hand and nodded. He chuckled at me and turned back towards the rock we were about to climb. _I hope this goes well…_ I gripped his hand harder as we suddenly picked up speed. The men were holding onto the railing while Killer was gripping the mast.

_This is- It's amazing!_ I was surprised at how wondrous it was. We were quickly reaching the summit and I could feel Kid's excitement. I let out a scream as we got to the summit. We were launched into the air, and my feet left the deck.

My hand slipped from Kid's. "Brother!"

He looked up at me, his eyes widening. He reached his arm out towards me and used his powers. "Presea!" His devil fruit power pulled me back down to him so he could grab me again. "That was close," he muttered in my ear.

I nodded and held him tighter. _That was scary…_

We quickly sped back down to the ocean on the other side. The ship hit it hard, splashing the water. Kid laughed loud after a short silence. "We're finally in the Grand Line!"

A cry rose from the crew. _We're… really here?_ I smiled lightly.

"Didn't doubt me, did you?" Kid joked.

I shook my head. "I knew you'd get us here!"

He laughed. Killer walked over and placed a hand on my back. "Are you alright?" he asked, worry evident in his quiet voice.

I nodded. Kid passed me over to him with a grin. "Take her inside. I think that's enough excitement for her for one day."

I hadn't realized before, but I _was_ getting tired. "Goodnight, Brother…"

Killer walked towards his bedroom, but I fell asleep before we even reached there.

* * *

Kid pulled an object out of his desk. Killer walked into the room and looked at it. "What is that?"

He glanced up at the man. "A Log Prose. I got it from the last island we were at. One of the women wanted to thank me for killing that bastard of a man," he scowled, but continued, "and she said we would need it when we reached the Grand Line."

Killer nodded slowly. "So this will help us navigate properly, then. We're lucky she gave it to you."

Kid agreed absently. "I almost lost her up there," he said quietly, referring to the mountain. "I have to be more careful."

"There's no way you could have known that was going to happen."

Kid frowned. "But I won't let something like that happen again. She doesn't deserve to be left again."

* * *

I woke up and Killer was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hey," he brushed my hair back. "How are you doing? Kid says we'll be at an island in a couple hours."

I sat up and hugged him. "That was scary and fun."

I could hear his chuckle rumble in his chest. "Yes it was." He pulled me out of bed and set me on the ground. "Change and come out to the mess hall. I bet the cook will want help in the kitchen."

He left, shutting the door behind him. I rushed to grab new clothes. I pulled on a deep purple skirt and a white shirt, setting a deep purple cloak on top. I opened the door and ran to the kitchen, ready to help.

"Mister Cook!" I called when the door swung open.

"Yes, kiddo?"

I saw him poke his head out from behind an open cupboard. "Do you need help with anything right now?"

He pondered for a moment. "Yes, actually. Could you start some lunch for the crew? They'll need their energy."

I grinned. "Of course!"

* * *

By the time everyone had eaten and Tiki had helped us clean the dishes, we were about to approach the new island. The air felt slightly cool and I heard Mister Cook mumble something about how it was probably a fall island. I was amazed. _The islands here don't all have the same weather?_ I thought they were supposed to, just like the ones in the South Blue.

I looked up at Killer when he entered the kitchen. "Hi! What are you doing?" Killer didn't usually come into the kitchen.

"Kid wants you to meet him on deck."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me out. _Maybe Brother's worried something bad will happen again._ I didn't want either of my brothers to worry again. We stepped out onto the deck and I looked up at the cloud filled sky. _Is it going to rain?_

Kid turned around when we reached him. Killer let go of my hand and Kid picked me up. I gave him a hug before looking at the island. "What is this place?"

He shook his head. "We don't have any information about the Grand Line, so I'm hoping to get a bit while we're here."

I nodded._ We don't need to worry, though. My brother can take care of anything._ I grinned at that thought. I had complete trust in my brother's abilities. It was a few minutes before we docked in the port. There were a couple other ships here, but they didn't look like pirates or Marines.

"Split up. One group get supplies, while the other gets information," Kid ordered the crew.

We watched the men leave before Kid turned to Killer. "Let's see what we can find, as well."

My brothers and I walked into the brick city. Everything looked clean, but it was so different from what I was used to. _Why is it all brick, I wonder…?_ Kid stopped at a vendor's stall and glared at the man working.

"What is this place?"

The man didn't seem scared. "A fall island that takes four days for the Log Prose to set."

We walked away from him. "Killer Brother, why didn't he tell us the name of the island?"

He shook his head. "Perhaps he thought we would not care."

I frowned. That seemed weird to me. _Wouldn't most visitors want to know what island they're staying at?_

We walked into a large inn and stopped at the desk. "Yes, can I help you?" an older woman asked tiredly.

"I want rooms for my men."

She didn't look up from the cards she was sorting. "Yes sir. And how many rooms will you need? We have single rooms as well as rooms with four beds."

"Two singles and three other ones." Killer spoke up for Kid.

"Very well. They shall be ready in two hours' time."

We left the inn. "Why aren't the people here afraid like the other ones were?" I piped up.

Kid was frowning. "I don't know." He began to smirk. "But we'll give them a reason to before we leave."

I giggled at his words. _I guess we get to have more fun before we go to the next island!_ People at home would tell me it was strange that violence wouldn't bother me at all. I thought they were the strange ones because they let it scare them.

-flashback—

"Get back here, kid!"

I ran into the forest. A few of the villagers were chasing me because their children had lied, saying I tried to hurt them. _I'm so small! How would I ever be able to beat them up?_ I climbed up my favorite tree until I was near the top.

"Get down here, brat!" the fat man yelled.

"No! You'll try to hurt me like the boys do!"

A well-built man scoffed. "Our children wouldn't do that. Your brother was a barbarian, however, and he must have taught you his barbaric ways before he left."

"Brother was only protecting me from them!"

I saw a rock fly by and hit the fat man. I laughed at him as he looked around hurriedly.

"Who did that?!"

"I did."

I looked over to see one of the oldest boys in the village standing on the roof of a house.

"Damn it, Eric! You should know better than that-"

He jumped to the ground, landing lightly. "Shut it." The men quietened down. "You knew her parents. You know how she acted when her brother was still here. You know Ella. Do you honestly think she attacked your children?"

His eyes were hard as he looked at each man.

"Damn, well I suppose she isn't strong enough to do it," the fat man grumbled.

"And I suppose Ella would have drilled his barbaric ways from her," the well-built man added.

Eric nodded. "Good. Now leave."

We watched the men walk away before he turned to me. He held his arms up to me like my brother would always do before he left. I hesitated.

"Come on, do you really think I would try to hurt you after getting rid of them?"

I shook my head slowly. _I guess not…_ I carefully climbed a little lower before dropping. He caught me and set me lightly on the ground.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I shook my head in reply. He laughed quietly. "How old are you anyways? You look like you're seven."

I frowned at him. "I'm thirteen!"

He seemed a little shocked. "Really?"

I gave one nod and crossed my arms. "How old are you?"

He grinned. "I'm twenty three. I'll be leaving soon so I can go out and work with Marines and the Shichibukais. After all, I think pirates and Marines should be able to get along, right?" he winked at me.

I clapped my hands together. "Yes! That means you may work with my brother!"

He chuckled at my reaction. "If he wants to work with me, then I might."

That would be so cool if he did!

-end flashback—

I guess I always knew my brother would avoid working with the government. But I didn't know back then about my father being a Marine. _I wonder what happened to Eric…_ I hadn't heard about him since he left the island.

I blinked quickly as we entered a bar. My brothers sat down in a corner and Kid ordered a drink.

"We have to wait for the crew to finish what they're doing anyways," he explained when he set me down.

"Are we going to eat now, too?"

He picked up the drink he had ordered. "Go ahead."

I skipped up to the counter where a waiter was standing. "Excuse me Mister, could I order something?"

The tall brown-haired man looked down at me. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"Could I have some soup?"

"Alright. I'll bring it over to your table when it's done."

I grinned and skipped back to where Kid and Killer were sitting. I plopped down in between them, still grinning.

"Having fun?" Kid said as he set down his second drink.

I nodded quickly. "Yup!"

My feet barely reached the ground while I was sitting, so I started swinging my legs. I only had to wait another minute for the waiter to bring my soup out. He set it carefully in front of me and walked away, avoiding looking at my brothers.

"Why wasn't he looking at us?" I asked, feeling confused.

Kid shrugged. "Probably one of the smart people in this town and is actually afraid of us."

I looked at Killer and he shook his head. I didn't believe the waiter was afraid, either. There wasn't anything we could do about it though, so I turned back to my soup and started to eat. It was chicken soup, and it tasted pretty good!

When I pushed the bowl away, I summoned Tiki. He flickered and looked at me. _"Nothing is wrong. I am assuming that is what you brought me out here for."_

I nodded. "Thank you, Tiki. Do you want to go back or stay out?"

He hissed and crackled. _"I will leave. Your brothers are here, anyways. Perhaps I shall come back once we are in the room."_ He flickered once more before disappearing.

"What was that about?" Killer asked me.

I stared at the spot Tiki had been standing. "I wanted him to make sure there wasn't something in my food again."

He nodded, satisfied. _Why does Tiki want to come back out later? Is there something he wants to tell me?_ I tried to put it out of my mind for now. I wanted to pay attention to now and worry about later when it came.

* * *

"Heat, there you are," Kid said as we stepped outside.

Heat walked over to us from the other side of the street. "Do you need something, Master Kid?"

Kid nodded. "What did you find out about the island?"

"Kid," Killer interrupted them. "Perhaps we should take Presea back to the inn first."

He nodded and the four of us walked to the inn we had booked rooms in. We only had to stop at the counter for a moment to pick up the keys for our rooms. Once that was done, we walked up the stairs and stopped at the second room. Kid put the key in the lock and pushed the door open.

It was much larger than I thought it would be. There was a huge bed closer to the one wall and I could see a door on the opposite side that most likely lead to a shower. _I can't believe how much bigger this room is than the ones on the ship!_ I ran into the room, spinning and laughing.

"Presea, stay here for now. We'll be back later."

I stopped for a moment to look at the three men in the doorway. "Okay!" I grinned and waved.

I watched as they left and I heard a small click as the door was locked. I sat down suddenly and summoned Tiki again. "So what did you want to talk about?" I asked quickly.

The flame grew until it was twice the usual size. _"I believe we need to experiment more."_

I frowned slightly, confused. "With your powers? But we don't know how to."

There was a loud pop. _"Size, heat, physical properties. For example, how large can I grow and for how long can it be sustained?"_

I nodded. This sounded like it could be a lot of fun!

* * *

Extras:

.log- Hahaha! I don't like tomatoes either :p And I hadn't really thought about Law helping her with it… Thanks for the idea!

MsWildLuck- I didn't really mean to make it sad… I think I had decided on just having her go away, but this came out instead…

Girl-luvs-manga- I'm trying to hurry! At least they're in the Grand Line now. And I doubt she would be able to grow to Kid's height. He's extremely tall!

Miss Doflamingo- I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean for that to be so sad, but it just kind of happened… Then again, the same thing happened with the scars. I swear I didn't plan for that to happen!


	10. Chapter 10: The First Island

Kid had his arms crossed and was glaring. "They're hiding something here."

Killer was staring at the floor, releasing and drawing his blades in. "But what…? We should stay on guard. They said it will take four days for the Log Prose to set, correct? Then they must have something planned for either the third or fourth day."

Kid looked up at Heat. "Go get her bow and arrows from the ship." Heat walked away. "I want her to have some sort of weapon to fight with in case we get attacked."

Kid and Killer walked back up the stairs to the rooms they had reserved. When they opened the one their sister was in, they stepped inside. Kid ran his hand through his hair as he looked down at his sleeping sister.

"She doesn't have a clue, does she?" Kid mumbled.

Killer shook his head. "She could know more than we realize."

* * *

I blinked when I woke up. _It was colder when I fell asleep. Why is it warm now?_ I sat up and turned around to see Kid sleeping next to me. _That's why. I didn't even hear Brother come back. I must have been more tired than I thought._

I had practiced with Tiki for over an hour last night. I was happy to find out that he could grow a couple feet tall, but we found a catch. He had to have energy from food if he was going to stay big for very long. That meant I needed to get something that I could carry around just in case Tiki needed it.

I slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake my brother. I changed into the light purple dress I had brought with me and left the room. I slowly walked down the stairs and stepped up to the counter. "Excuse me, Miss."

The lady who helped us yesterday leaned over the counter. "How can I help you?"

"Have any of the pirates come downstairs yet?" I wasn't sure if I should say that Killer was my brother.

She pointed to a doorway after sitting back. "A few of them entered the dining room a little while ago."

I grinned. "Thank you!" I span around and ran through the doorway she had pointed to.

I paused for a moment when I entered the room. There were a few wealthier looking people sitting at the tables by the door. I sidled around them until I could see some of the Kid Pirates.

"Killer Brother!"

I quickly ran up to him and buried my head against him. He picked me up and set me on his lap. "Good morning. What were you doing?"

I think he was referring to my hiding. "There are lots of rich people in here," I whispered.

He patted my head and turned back to the men. It was his way of reassuring me, I guess. A waitress walked up to me after a few minutes.

"And what would you like to have today?" She sounded bored.

"Um, could I have pancakes?"

She nodded and walked off. _I wonder why everyone sounds bored around here. And I wonder why no one's scared of Brother or Killer Brother…_ There had to be a reason, I just needed to find out what it was.

I clapped my hands together when the waitress brought my food out. She set it down with little sound, along with the utensils, and then left. I started to eat while I listened to Killer's conversation.

He shook his head. "We should get the rest of our supplies today in case someone decided to call the Marines. And you know Kid will have his fun later."

Heat nodded. Mister Cook scowled. "We need to get some more food for the kitchen. I have a few assholes who like to sneak in and take an extra helping of food."

Killer nodded slightly and placed one arm around me. "Then we will have to talk to them about that."

His voice was hard. _I don't think Killer Brother really means talk. I think he means something more like persuasion._ I stifled a giggle at the thought. My brothers had a funny way of wording things sometimes.

I pushed my plate away when I was done eating and looked up at Killer. "Can I go shopping today?"

"What do you need?"

"Food for Tiki. He will need it if I want him to fight more."

Killer seemed like he hardly needed to think about it. "Very well. Shall we leave now?"

I grinned and nodded. He set me lightly on the floor and grabbed my hand as we left the room. I could hear the rich people whispering quietly as they watched us. I tried to ignore them.

"Where do you need to go?"

I hadn't thought about that too much. "I guess somewhere that will sell stuff that Tiki can use." I glanced up at a sign and pointed. "Like charcoal!"

Killer looked at the building I was pointing at. It said "Charcoal Burners." We walked over to the door and stepped inside. "Are you sure it will eat that?"

I nodded. "Ella used to feed him sticks and leaves when she swept outside. And she liked to give him little bits of charcoal so he would warm up the house when it got cool."

I was looking at the shelves, but there were only tools where we were. "Can I help you?"

A big, burly man walked up to us. He had to be as tall as Killer, but almost twice as wide. _I bet Killer Brother could still beat him._ "Do you have charcoal or anything else that can be used for fires?"

He frowned slightly at my question. "I do, but it is only for small fires."

It sounded like a warning. _Does he think I'll use it to start buildings on fire?_ What a silly thought. _Everything is made of stone. There's no way I could do that._ "That's what I'm looking for."

He nodded and walked behind the counter before pulling something out from a cabinet. He set it on the counter and Killer had to lift me up so I could see it properly. There were three balls about the size of my fist and they looked like they were woven from cloth.

I looked confusedly at the man. "Cloth?"

He chuckled and cut one ball slightly. I could see something black inside of it. "There is charcoal on the inside; the cloth just holds it together. When you place it in a fire, the cloth catches first, slowing burning away. After the cloth is gone, then the charcoal begins to get used. It makes it easier to start a fire and keep it going for a little while."

I grinned at the little balls. "That's so cool! Can we buy some Killer Brother?"

He set a bag on the counter to answer my question. The man carefully took it and looked inside, like he didn't trust us. _I guess we are pirates, after all. I wonder how many people have tried to give him something besides money._ The man passed me the two balls that were still intact and pulled out six more.

"One moment," he said as Killer turned to leave. He stepped into the back of the store and brought out a small sack with a string tied around the top. "Here. Put them in this bag so you don't drop them."

I dropped the four balls I was carrying into the bag and Killer put the other four in as well. Then the man passed it to me with a smile. "Thank you, Mister!"

I ran to the door and waited for Killer to follow. I saw the man whisper something to him, but I couldn't hear it. _Maybe he's just thanking Killer Brother for the business._ I shook my head. _Or is it something else?_

Killer grabbed my hand again as we walked outside. I was holding the bag tightly in my other hand. "Killer Brother, what did he say to you?"

"Nothing."

I pouted slightly. _Now I know that there's something going on. What did he tell Killer Brother that I can't hear?_ He pulled me back down towards the inn. "Killer Brother, do they have a forest here?"

He paused. "I don't know. Why?"

"I saw a few trees at the end of the street and I want to go exploring."

"You know what happened last time we let you out of our sight."

We continued walking. "But I promise I'll be safe! I'll even bring Tiki out so he can protect me. Please, Killer Brother?"

We entered the inn and he sighed. "Grab your bow from your room then come right back here."

I ran upstairs and opened the door, slowing down when I saw that Kid was still lying in bed. _It's just before noon. He'll probably be getting up soon._ I saw my bow and arrows and picked them up, quietly leaving the room before running back downstairs. I skidded to a stop in front of Killer.

He crouched down. "Now, you have two hours. If you plan on doing something else or going to a different place, you have to tell us." I nodded quickly. He took the arrow quiver from my hand and put it on my back. "Be careful."

I gave him a hug before running outside and down the street to where I could see a few trees.

* * *

Kid walked down the stairs and stepped into the dining room where a few of his men were sitting. "Killer. Where's Presea?" He hadn't noticed her when he entered the room.

"I let her go outside. She has her bow with her as well as the flame."

Kid frowned. "After what happened last time?"

Killer continued to look straight ahead. "Last time happened because she was drugged. You know as well as I do that she took care of herself while we were gone."

Kid sat down with a grunt. Just because she took care of herself then didn't mean he could stop taking care of her now. He looked around at each man sitting at the table. It was just Killer, Heat, Wire, "Mister Cook" (as Presea liked to call him), and himself. "Where the fuck is everyone else?"

"They are getting the rest of the supplies, Master Kid," Heat responded dutifully.

"I took her out earlier," Killer said suddenly. "We stopped at a store so she could get "food" for her flame."

Kid drank the coffee the waitress had set down for him. "And?"

"The man had something interesting to say. _Better take care. I wouldn't want them to catch such a sweet little girl,_" Killer echoed the exact words the man had said to him.

Kid turned swiftly to look at Killer. "So they are planning something here."

Killer nodded. "And it will happen within the next two days." He suddenly thought of something. "How far away is the nearest Marine outpost?"

Kid swore when he understood. "That's something no one would mention. Damn it, there must be one two days sail away." He glared at his men present. "You'd better make sure everyone else knows. We're going to have to fight our way out of here."

Killer could vaguely remember seeing another island a fair distance away when they were at the top of Reverse Mountain. "So that's why no one's afraid," he mumbled.

* * *

I ran until I finally reached the trees. _There is a forest here!_ It wasn't very big, but there were trees nonetheless. My smile hadn't faded yet and it was bound to get bigger. I climbed the first tree I reached and sat down near the top.

Tiki was summoned swiftly. "Tiki! They have a forest here, just like home!"

It looked like he rolled his eyes. _"I can see that myself."_ He flickered and looked around. _"What is that strange smell?"_

I looked around and sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything." I stood up and looked the way Tiki faced. "Where is it coming from?"

He popped loudly. _"That way."_

I jumped across to the next tree. I was curious about what could be bothering Tiki, but I would have to wait until we found whatever it was. I tried to stay in the trees the whole time, but I had to climb down eventually. The branches were thin sometimes and there was getting to be too much space between each tree.

I stopped at the bottom of the biggest tree in the forest. "Is it up there?" I asked Tiki.

He popped again. _"Yes."_

I started to climb. _This is the biggest tree I've ever seen! The trees at home were only half the size of this one!_ I got a little over half way up when Tiki crackled to tell me to stop. I looked around carefully and saw a funny looking fruit hanging on the end of a branch. _It looks so pretty… It's almost like it reflects the sunshine._

I crawled over to the fruit. I almost dropped it when I pulled it off the branch. "It's so heavy. What do you think it is, Tiki?"

Tiki crept down my arm until he was sitting right next to it. _"I do not know. It appears to have a surface that reflects. Such a strange fruit. I have not seen one with angles before."_

I had to agree. All of the fruits I have seen were round and smooth. This one looked like someone pasted flat surfaces all around until it was covered. "Should we hold onto it for now?"

"_We may as well. It could be useful later on, perhaps."_

I moved to put it in the small bag when I remembered what Killer and I bought. "Look, Tiki! Killer Brother let me get this for you!" I pulled out one ball to show him. "It's charcoal wrapped in cloth! The man said it helps keep a fire burning for longer."

Tiki crackled and popped. _"That is good. We will be prepared for whatever these people have planned for us."_

_I forgot about that…_ "Hey, Tiki, do you think my brothers are trying to hide it from me? I know the man said something to Killer Brother, but he won't tell me what it was."

"_Perhaps you do not need to know. He is older and knows better than you. He could just be protecting you."_

I nodded slowly. "I didn't think of that. Okay then!"

I started my climb down. I wasn't very worried about what Killer had been told, I was just curious. Tiki always knew what to say to get me to understand, though. _There will always be things that Brother and Killer Brother won't want to tell me, so I have to get used to it._ I stepped on the ground and brushed my dress off.

"Where to now? We've only been here for an hour." I wanted to use my free time to the fullest.

Tiki seemed to think for a moment as he sat on my shoulder. He started to sizzle. _"Let us go further into the forest. You can always create a second flame if we go too deep to get back in time."_

I nodded. "Okay! Let's go!"

I marched into the forest, listening to the crunch of leaves under my feet and the occasional hiss as Tiki flickered. I talked about anything and everything that came to mind: the sunshine, the trees, my brothers, and home. I talked a lot about Ella and Mister Baker, especially how I missed Ella. I knew she was happy where ever she had gone though, and I wanted to be able to always smile for her.

I stopped at the same large tree I had climbed before. "Um, have I been walking in circles?"

Tiki crackled angrily. _"I have been waiting for you to notice. It's about time we headed back anyways. Now this time, walk straight that way."_

I tried to walk in a straight line this time. But, I had to walk around big boulders and fallen trees. "I don't think we're going the right way," I mumbled. I climbed the tree closest to me and looked around. I could see the top of a tall building in the distance and I sighed. "Tiki, I went the wrong way again."

I could tell he was getting angrier with me. _"Can you not follow one direction without changing to another? You should call your brothers, else they get anxious of your disappearance."_

I held my hand out for Tiki to sit in and concentrated hard to summon a second one back at the inn.

* * *

Kid sat down on the bed. "She should be coming back here soon," he grumbled.

It was making him impatient to have his sister gone for more than an hour at a time. And it was worse now that she was wandering on her own. He was about to snap something at his silent first mate when a flame flickered into life on the ground.

"What the fuck is that?"

Killer knelt down next to it and whispered, "Presea?"

Kid moved closer when he heard it say something. _"Brother…? This is… Presea… I'm still in… the forest… A little lost… but I'll be… back in half… hour. Okay?"_

Kid scowled at the small flame. "Presea! Hurry up and get back here before it gets dark."

The flame nodded once before disappearing. Kid sat back on the edge of the bed.

"That damn thing is too hard to hear."

Killer leaned against the wall. "At least you know where she is."

* * *

I climbed down the tree and walked in the correct direction this time. I climbed a couple trees along the way to make sure I hadn't changed directions. I was lucky this time; I was walking the right way the whole time. As soon as I could see the buildings through the trees, I let out a breath of relief.

I wanted to run back to the inn, but Tiki told me I should be more careful since it was getting dark. I agreed with him and walked. I chose to walk down the center of the street instead of the sides because I didn't trust the dark alleys. But with Tiki on my shoulder and my bow in my hand, I should have known no one would try to bother me.

As soon as I walked into the inn, Kid picked me up. I let out a short scream. "Brother! Don't scare me like that!" He held me closer to him and walked to his room without answering me. I felt a little worried. "Brother…?"

He shut the door behind him and set me on the bed. "Do you know how late you are?"

I hung me head. "I'm sorry, Brother… But I did get my flame to tell you I would be late…"

He sat down heavily beside me. "I know."

"He was just worried about you," Killer interjected.

"Killer Brother?" _Wait, what?_ "Why would you be worried?" I asked Kid.

He glanced at Killer before looking at me. "We found out what their plan is. They're waiting for the Marines to get here."

My eyes widened. "But we should leave then!"

Killer shook his head. "We have to wait for the Log Prose to set and the Marines will be here by that time. It's why the people aren't afraid of pirates."

I got it now. "So they tell the Marines when pirates come, and because the pirates have to wait for four days, the Marines can come and pick them up before they get too far."

Killer nodded in agreement. Kid just sat on the bed and stared at the floor. Before I could say anything he looked up and stared at me closely. "I want you to stay close to us at all times until we leave the island. I refuse to give those assholes a chance to catch you."

"Okay Brother. I will." I could see him calm down significantly when I answered. _Brother must be really worried about the Marines taking me…_ I would try my best to stay with him, just like I said I would. Kid laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. "Brother, do you want me to stay with Killer Brother so I don't wake you in the morning?"

He grunted. "Do whatever you want."

I got off the bed. "Okay then. Goodnight Brother."

I grabbed Killer's hand and we left Kid's room, shutting the door quietly. "He started drinking about half an hour before you were supposed to show up and stopped ten minutes ago."

I frowned at Killer. "But I was an hour late. That means… he drank for over an hour?" I shook my head. "I didn't mean to worry him…"

Killer picked me up and continued walking. "There's no reason to think about it. He's bound to worry because he's not used to having you around without being able to watch you. He'll get used to it eventually."

"If you say so…"

He opened his door and set me down. It looked the same as the other room, but I guess that was to be expected. It was an inn. Tiki fell off my shoulder and onto the bed. _"Are you not going to show him the fruit?"_ he hissed.

"Oh yeah!" I span around and pulled the funny fruit out of the bag. "Killer Brother, Tiki and I found this when we were exploring. Do you know what it is?"

He picked it up and looked at it, slowly turning it around. "It could be a devil fruit." He handed it back to me. "Don't eat it, just in case it is. It would kill you if you tried to."

I nodded slowly. _It could kill me…?_ I placed it back inside the bag. I was a little afraid of the fruit now that I knew that. "How would it kill me?"

"It's said that if you eat two devil fruits, the devils will fight for control until it kills you."

_That sounds like it would be a lot of suffering before you finally died…_ I got into the bed and Killer laid next to me. "Night, Killer Brother." I moved until I was against him.

He brushed my hair back. "Goodnight."

* * *

I sat up slowly and stretched. _I really need to do more stuff besides going out for a little bit and then coming back to sleep._ I doubted I would be able to do very much today. Especially since my brother wanted me to stay next to him and Killer until we had left the island. I sighed and got out of bed. Killer had already gotten up and was probably downstairs with some of the crew.

I walked carefully down the stairs and into the dining room. There were a lot of rich people sitting at the tables again. I tied to walk past them again, but one of the older ladies saw me.

"Are you lost dear?"

I shook my head. "I'm just going to meet my brother."

She beckoned me over. "Now dearie, there are pirates in the room. You shouldn't stray far from your family."

I frowned at her. "But my brothers are the pirates."

The lady gasped. "And you live with them? Don't they hurt you when you do something wrong?"

I crossed my arms, my frown still present. "You're being mean. My brothers were the ones who always protected me from the mean boys in our village. They would try to beat me and my brothers up. Those boys were the bad ones."

I walked away from her as she stared at me. _She isn't a very nice lady. My brothers are not bad to me!_ I stopped when I was next to Killer.

"What's wrong?"

I was still mad at the lady. "The rich lady said you guys must hurt me when I do stuff wrong."

I could hear him sigh before he set me on the seat next to him. "Ignore them. They don't know anything about us."

I let out a breath of frustration. "Okay then." It was hard, but I ignored the lady. I thought I could see her looking over at us, but I was trying to pretend she wasn't there. Killer was helping keep me distracted and so was Heat. Killer would ask me questions and Heat would show me how to play with the fire I created. It was lots of fun!

I jumped up when I saw Kid enter the room and I ran up to him. "Morning, Brother!"

He picked me up and I hugged him. "Hey," he grumbled back.

I giggled at his voice. _He must still be tired!_ He sounded so funny when he just woke up. I could see the lady staring at us as we walked past. _Killer Brother said to ignore her, so I will ignore her._ I took a deep breath and grinned.

"What's up with that bitch?" Kid grumbled.

I covered my mouth with my hand, but I still burst out laughing. "Brother!" I couldn't believe he said that!

He half glared at me, though I could see him holding back a grin. "What?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "You're so funny sometimes."

He chuckled as he set me down. I moved back onto his lap when he sat down on the chair. He frowned slightly down at me and grinned up at him. He rolled his eyes and put his hand on my head. I turned back so we were facing Killer.

"So, what are we doing today?" I chirped.

* * *

Extras:

.log- You will have to wait to find out more about Eric, and yup, Presea will be learning how to fight more. Though, it'll be Tiki that does most of the work! :p

Miss Doflamingo- Thank you! I'm so happy that you like my stories that much!

MsWildLuck- I agree, but I hope this chapter explains why the island is so weird!

Girl-luvs-manga- I don't think Presea would grow to Kid's height… That's a little too extreme for me…

Rejar- I'm glad you liked the part about Doflamingo. I hardly know anything about him, so it's a little hard to write about him in the story. I kind of see what you mean by monotone, though it's a little hard to get Presea to go out and do crazy things when she really is still like a child. I am working my way up, so she will be changing soon. I don't really understand what you say about the flashbacks, though. They are meant to explain things, and it wouldn't feel right to randomly place them when they aren't telling the reader anything. Thank you for the review, and you don't have to worry, I'm not discouraged.


	11. Chapter 11: I'm Sorry

The third day on the island went by quickly. Kid had his crew buy all of the supplies they would need so that they would be ready to go once the Log Prose was set. He had also told me to make sure I had my bow and arrows with me at all times, just in case there was a Marine hiding on the island somewhere. I didn't argue; it made sense.

It was finally the fourth day. I had gotten up a couple hours ago and sat downstairs with Killer. I knew my brother wouldn't be up early, but he said he'd be up before noon.

"Killer Brother, how long until we can leave?"

He continued to read the paper in front of him. "Three hours."

I sighed. _So we have to wait until about two o'clock?_ It felt like time was moving so slowly, but there was nothing I could do to make it go faster. I swung my legs as I sat on the chair and tried to not bother Killer any more than necessary.

I looked at the door when I heard it open. "Brother!" I ran up to him and he picked me up.

"Killer, is everything ready to go?"

He nodded. "The men finished putting the supplies away early this morning."

"Good. Tell them to be ready to fight. The Marines should be here soon."

Heat suddenly opened the door. "They're here, Master Kid."

Kid growled before he smirked. "Time to have some fun with the town. How many are there, Heat?"

Killer and the rest of the crew stood up and followed Kid to the door. "They have the inn surrounded."

"They must be waiting for our move," Killer input.

Kid's smirk was bloodthirsty. "And that will be their downfall. Heat," he pushed me into his hands. "Take care of her. Make sure no one gets close enough to touch her."

He stepped out the door and I grinned. "We get to have fun now, Papa!"

It looked like Heat smiled slightly. "Yes we do, little Presea."

Heat followed Kid once Killer had gone outside. I blinked quickly from the sunlight before I focused on the group of Marines. _There doesn't look like there are a lot of them. No wait, I think I can see more hiding around the corner._ I knew Killer had noticed, too, so I didn't say anything.

"Give up now, Eustass Kid, or we will be forced to attack you!"

Kid snorted. "Like hell you could."

Some of the Marines looked happy with his answer. _Why would they be? Are they bored or something…?_ I frowned at them. _My brother will make them realize that they should be scared._ I thought the Marines were being silly if they thought they could capture my brother that easily.

I saw Kid raise his hand, and before the Marines could do anything, he attracted the first man's sword. I saw a few of them scatter as he shouted, "Repel."

I giggled at how funny they looked. Heat carefully set me on the ground at his feet as he turned to face the closest Marine. I grinned as the flames shot from his mouth. I glanced at Killer to see his blades cut through two separate Marines. _I have the best family!_

I concentrated on my palm and summoned Tiki. "We should help out, too!"

He crackled in affirmation and I threw him at a man. I didn't watch Tiki burn him; I was busy notching an arrow to my bow. I carefully looked around, selecting my target and shooting him. I didn't want to waste any arrows, so my shots were slow compared to my brother's.

Tiki flared higher until he was two feet tall. I could see the Marines were wary of him and it was understandable. _I wonder how anyone would be able to fight against Tiki, anyways._ It wasn't like they could just dump a bucket of water on him. Tiki would turn off his fire properties if they tried, so the water wouldn't be able to affect him.

"_Presea! Throw one of those balls towards me."_ I heard Tiki pop loudly to get my attention.

I reached into the bag and grabbed something inside of it, throwing without thinking about it. My eyes widened as it landed next to my ember. _The fruit! I forgot it was in the bag!_ I could see Tiki think about it for a moment before he moved over to it and engulfed the fruit.

I felt pain shoot through my body for a moment and I fell to my knees. _W-what-?_ I rolled out of the way as a Marine roared and swung his blade at me. I looked around swiftly to see Heat being surrounded by four men. _I didn't see him move away…_ Neither of my brothers would be able to reach me quick enough. The rest of the Marines that were hiding must have joined the fight. I looked to my ember for help, but it was flickering: red, orange, blue, green, purple. I couldn't tell what was going on.

"Tiki!"

I tried to call him to me, but something was wrong. I stood up quickly and tried to step away from the tall Marine.

"Now come quietly and we won't have to hurt you."

I frowned at him. "But my bounty poster says 'Alive,' not 'Dead or Alive.' You can't hurt me or your captain will get mad." _Just a little further until I reach Tiki…_

I tripped and fell backwards onto my butt. _No! I have to reach Tiki so he can help me!_ I slid backwards and froze when I saw orange flicker next to me.

It was Tiki, but something was different. He stood five feet tall now, and he was the exact same shape as the Marine standing next to the tall man. I could see their confused expressions, but I was confused, too. _Tiki…? Why are you so big? And… when did you get arms and legs?_

Tiki looked down at me with a grin. _"Time for some fun."_

I smiled back at him and watched as a blade grew in his hand. _Just like the tall Marine's blade._ Tiki held it in front of him before attacking the men. It was amazing to see them fight each other. Tiki copied every move the Marines tried on him. It was just like a mirror. My mouth opened. _The fruit! It was a mirror!_

Tiki suddenly sunk into the ground and we all looked at the spot where he disappeared. I hid my grin when I realized he was coming back out behind them. The Marines fell to the ground with a thud. I watched Tiki as he walked up to me.

"_Are you alright?"_

I could see his mouth move just like any other person's would. _And his voice is easier to understand…_ "Y-yeah. What happened to you, Tiki?" My voice was quiet.

He looked down at himself. _"The fruit appears to have given me the power to copy anything I see."_

"Do you still have control over what you burn?"

I watched him as he placed his hand on one body. Nothing happened for a moment, but then the cloth suddenly started on fire. _"Yes. I can control it just as before."_ He held out a hand for me and carefully pulled me up. _"Did you feel that pain?"_

I nodded. "It hurt really badly, but it came and went so fast. Do you think it happened because we're connected?"

He seemed to think about it. He picked me up when he noticed me swaying on my feet. _"Most likely. If I had to guess, we are no longer perfectly connected. The fruit has made me more of my own being. However,"_ he jumped out of the way of a Marine's sword. _"Since I originated from you, I cannot survive on my own."_

I tried to understand. _So… I can't control Tiki like I used to? Does that mean I can't use him like a den den mushi anymore?_ I closed my eyes as I saw him grow another sword. "Do you still need me to pull out one of the balls?"

He shook his head. _"I can survive much longer without it. Perhaps I will when I change back to normal."_ He blocked an attack and retaliated. _"Your brothers need to hurry and finish this battle,"_ he muttered.

I stifled a giggle. Tiki could change his expression now, so he actually looked a little angry. It was so different from what I was used to. I twisted around in his arms when I heard a loud slice behind us. Killer was standing over a dead Marine who had tried to attack Kid from behind. I could only see a couple more men standing. It wasn't long until all of the Marines had died. Kid walked over to us with a frown on his face.

"What the hell are you doing with my sister?" he growled at Tiki.

"Brother!" I frowned back at him. "Don't be mean to Tiki."

His eyes widened slightly before he narrowed them again. "This thing is your demon ember? How the fuck did that happen?"

I opened my mouth, but Tiki interrupted me. _"Perhaps we could relocate to your ship before we try to explain the situation. Your men could even have their fun with the town while we explain."_

I watched my brother think about it for a moment. He walked past us. "Fine. Come back to the ship with me."

Tiki continued to carry me as we walked, Kid to the front and Killer to the back of us. I was a little worried that he was mad at me for almost getting attacked again. _Hopefully he didn't see that…_ Tiki set me down on the deck and shrunk to normal. I fell to my knees when he did.

He slowly flowed into my lap. _"I am sorry. I did not think it would affect you if I changed. It was beginning to be too tiring to stay in that form."_

I shook my head. "It's okay." I looked up at Killer who was waiting for us. "Killer Brother, can I have some help, please?"

He slowly picked me up and followed after Kid. He was already in his room when we reached the door. Killer shut it quietly behind us and set me down. Kid had his arms folded as he sat in his chair. "Now, explain."

"Well, when I went walking in the forest a couple days ago, Tiki told me he could smell something. I walked until we found a really massive tree. When I climbed it, we found a funny fruit that looked like it had pieces of a mirror glued to it. I brought it back here and ended up putting it in the bag that holds the balls for Tiki. I had forgotten about it and I accidentally threw it to Tiki when he asked for one of the balls. So he ate it."

I shuffled my feet before continuing. "Something hurt really bad for a moment and Tiki was flickering a lot and changing colors. He stepped in front of me suddenly; his shape was the exact same as one of the Marines. He also grew a sword made of flames and he copied it from another Marine. We're guessing that the pain means he's partially separate from me now."

It was silent while Kid digested the information. "So, he should technically be able to do things on his own now?"

I shook my head. "He's only partially separated. That's what we think, at least. He's still technically my ember."

Kid sighed and stood up. "I'm going out for a bit."

I could tell he wanted to have some fun destroying the town before we left. Killer moved to follow him, but he paused and knelt in front of me. "I'll make sure he doesn't kill the man that helped us."

I grinned and gave him a hug. He always seemed to know what I was worrying about. "Thank you, Killer Brother."

He ruffled my hair before leaving me alone in the room.

* * *

Killer slashed again, taking down another villager. It wasn't overly tiring, but it was something Kid liked to do whenever some place had pissed him off. He heard a sound behind him and twisted around, holding his scythes in front of his body. He was standing face to face with the man from before.

"I see you kept her safe."

Killer nodded. "We did."

The man turned and walked back into his store. "Good."

He watched for a moment longer before looking back at the bloody mess Kid was leaving behind him. "If anyone ever had a doubt of how protective he is with Presea…" he muttered.

Killer was the same though. He wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who threatened the first person who accepted him.

* * *

We had been sailing for a couple days now. My brother said we were getting closer to the Sabaody place, but I think he said there was one more island before then. I couldn't remember what kind of island he said it was, but once the air started to get a little colder, I knew where we were going.

I stepped out onto the deck and let out a puff of air. I giggled as I watched it disappear. _It's starting to get even colder. I wonder how close we are to the island._ I span around on the deck, staring at the sky. I was waiting for snowflakes to fall. Killer had told me about them last night and I couldn't wait to finally be able to see them.

I almost tripped over Tiki. "Wha- Tiki? How did you get out?" I was sure I hadn't summoned him.

I watched him flicker and crackle. _"I have more control over myself now."_

I sat down next to him. "Can we try something?" He grew slightly and I took that as a yes. "Can you copy me?"

He suddenly grew until he was the same size as me. Two pieces of fire stuck out to the side, just like my hair. I smiled when I raised my hand and he mirrored me. We continued to mirror each other until I thought of something.

"Hey Tiki, can you use a form you used before, even if the thing you copied isn't here?"

His form slowly changed until he was back to the Marine's shape. _"It takes longer if it is not in front of me."_ He flickered back down to a small flame.

He flowed into my lap and grew slightly so he could warm me. I hadn't realized the temperature was still dropping. I moved until my back was leaning against the wall. _I'll be fine as long as Tiki stays with me._ I wasn't very worried about getting cold. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't get as cold as everyone else did at home. _Maybe my devil fruit keeps me warmer even when Tiki isn't out._ It was an interesting thought.

Tiki flickered once more before disappearing. I blinked and shrugged. _He must have been getting tired._ That was the feeling I got from him, at least. I sat against the wall for a few more minutes until Killer walked outside.

"Hi, Killer Brother!"

He picked me off the deck and held me close to his chest. "You shouldn't sit out in the cold. You could get sick."

I nodded. "Tiki was out here before. He was keeping me warm."

"We will be at the next island soon, so you should go inside and eat."

He set me back down and I ran inside to the mess hall. Mister Cook handed me a plate of food and I sat down to eat. I leaned my bow against the table and started to eat. Kid stood up from his spot when I was about half done and started to leave. I looked behind him and silently questioned Tiki when he appeared. I quickly covered my mouth when he flickered and took Kid's shape. It was hard to keep from bursting out.

Kid frowned and looked at me. "What?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing, Brother."

He looked behind him, but Tiki had sunk into the floor. I stifled another giggle as he came back up to follow my brother again. I tried to call Tiki back without talking, and I think it finally worked since he disappeared again and popped up in front of me.

"What was that about?" I giggled.

He crackled quietly. _"I was thinking about what you said before. I wanted to memorize his form so I could take it if I ever needed."_

I grinned at him. "Did you have to copy him though?"

I swear Tiki shrugged. _"It helps me memorize. He did not notice."_

I shook my head. _I wonder what Brother would think if he knew Tiki was doing that._ I tried to picture it in my head, but I just smiled and shook it. _I won't worry about it. I doubt Brother would get very mad anyways._ I picked my bow back up and set my dishes in the kitchen. I watched Tiki clean a few of the dishes before he disappeared and reappeared on my shoulder.

"_Before you ask, I was in need of something to sustain me for longer."_

I grinned at his words. Tiki had always talked kind of funny, but I liked it. It was so different from how everyone else spoke. I stepped out onto the deck to watch the rest of the crew begin to get ready for docking.

* * *

I was wearing a long purple jacket as we finally docked at the island. My brothers told me I had to go back inside and bring a better coat out so I would be warm. _It isn't as cold as I thought it would be, though._ I still didn't argue with them.

I jumped off the deck and into the snow. There was so much that it went up to my waist. I giggled and tried to walk as fast as the rest of the men. It was impossible for me to keep up with their long legs, unfortunately. I felt something tug on my bracelet and I was suddenly in the air, being pulled by Kid's devil fruit.

I grinned up at him when he grabbed me. "Hi, Brother."

He rolled his eyes at me and set me on his shoulder. I held my free hand out so I could catch some of the snowflakes that were falling. _It's so beautiful!_ I decided that winter islands were my new favorite islands. It was so much better than my home.

We stepped into a bar and Kid sat down near the corner. He set me down more carefully before ordering some drinks from the bartender. _Well, it's more like demand._ I stifled a giggle when I saw the man try act like he wasn't afraid.

"They're afraid of you here, Brother."

He smirked. "Of course. They must have heard what happened to the last island."

I smiled at him before looking around. The bar was fairly large, but it seemed pretty empty. _I wonder where all of the customers are. Unless they all left when they heard a pirate was coming here…_ I shrugged and put it out of my mind. Even if the people were planning something, they wouldn't be able to do anything to Kid or Killer.

I swung my feet as I sat next to my brothers, waiting for what we would do next. I stayed quiet so I wouldn't interrupt either of them or any of the crew members. It was a little late, but the sun hadn't quite set yet. I wanted to leave before it did so I could watch it.

Killer must have noticed my impatience because he set a hand on my head. I grinned up at him and looked back at the window that showed the blue and red sky. I thought I heard a small sigh before he stood up and pulled me to my feet.

"We'll be going back first, Kid."

Kid grunted in reply as he downed another drink. We walked past him and went outside. I gasped softly when I saw the sun. "It's so beautiful," I breathed.

Killer chuckled and stared down at me. "So this is why you wanted to leave." It wasn't really a question.

I nodded quickly, still watching the setting sun. I just couldn't take my eyes off of it. I felt Killer tug on my arm and I finally turned my gaze towards him.

"Let's get back to the ship and you can watch it more from there."

I grinned and gave him a quick nod. "Okay!"

He held my hand tightly as I walked through the snow. Well, it was more like trudging or jumping. I let out a few giggles as we slowly got closer to the ship. I glanced up at Killer to see him watching me. _I wonder why he let me walk through the snow when Brother didn't. Maybe it's because he doesn't like to carry me like Brother does…_ My face fell slightly at the thought and I tried to put it out of my head.

"What's wrong?"

I blinked when he suddenly spoke up. I opened my mouth to tell him nothing was wrong, but I decided against it. _Killer Brother could always see through what I said anyways._ "Do you not like me as much as Brother does?" I asked quietly.

We stopped walking and I stared at the snow in front of me. "What makes you think that's true?"

"Brother picked me up right away when we left the ship, and it seems like you don't want to…" My voice trailed off slightly.

I saw him knee in the edge of my vision. "You know better than that." His reply was quiet in the cold air. "I could see how much you wanted to try walking, so I let you." I nodded without looking at him. He sighed again and pulled me against his chest. "I have never loved you less than he does. He just shows it more clearly than me."

I could hear the smile in his voice and I laughed slightly. I gave him a hug, burying my head against him. "I'm sorry for saying that, Killer Brother."

He stood up and held his hand out for me. I took it with a grin and we finished walking back to the ship. As we stepped onto the deck, Tiki flared into life in front of me.

"_Stop! Something is wrong-"_

An arrow shot through him, cutting off the rest of his words. "Tiki!"

I quickly looked up at the upper deck as Killer stepped in front of me. "Get off our ship," he growled.

I looked around him to see at least twenty Marines on both levels. "Not until we defeat you and take Eustass Presea."

I tried to make myself smaller at his words. _They want to capture me!_ I watched Killer's blades swing out, ready to fight them. "You will never get past me," he hissed angrily.

"K-Killer Brother…" I whispered.

He pushed me back without turning. "Go. Run back to the bar and find Kid." He spoke quietly so the Marines wouldn't hear.

I nodded once before quickly jumping off the deck and moving as fast as I could through the tracks we had just made.

"Quickly! After her!" I heard one of them yell.

I ran as hard as I could. _Please let Killer Brother stay safe._ I could faintly hear blades hitting each other the further away I got.

"Got you!"

I screamed when the Marine's hand grabbed my shoulder. I lashed out at him and Tiki burned him. He pulled away with a yelp, but something was placed around my neck from a second Marine. I tripped and fell into the snow. _W-wha…? Why can't I run anymore?_ I felt so weak all of a sudden, and I couldn't see Tiki anywhere.

The second Marine chuckled. "Sea stone. It gets them every time."

I tried to pull away from them, but I was picked up. "That damn fire almost scorched my skin off," the first one hissed.

I could barely see the bar as my vision turned black. _I'm sorry Killer Brother… I wasn't fast enough… And… I'm sorry Brother… I guess they caught me after all…_

* * *

Kid downed another glass of alcohol as Heat watched him. Kid glared at his strangely tense crew member. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he growled.

Heat looked at his captain and stopped fidgeting. "I'm sorry, Master Kid. Something feels wrong."

He glared at Heat for a few more seconds before standing. "Then let's go find my sister and Killer."

When they left the bar, the rest of the crew slowly followed after; they had felt something wrong, too. Kid growled once before raising his hand and muttering "attract." A Marine's sword shot towards him and he repelled it back into the hiding man.

"Tch. I should have known…"

Heat opened his mouth to burn a Marine alive as he tried to rush them. The rest of the crew grabbed their weapons, slashing through the few Marines who had somehow surrounded them while they were in the bar.

The enemy was dead within moments of being attacked. Kid quickened his pace to get back to the ship. He bristled with rage when he saw Killer fighting at least four Marines on the main deck. Wire and Heat were quick to jump on deck to assist the first mate. Kid stepped onto the deck, his eyes dark with rage.

"What the fuck happened here?" he snapped.

"Kid… Presea…" Wire's voice reached his ears.

He swore loudly. "Where the hell is she, Killer?" he demanded even louder.

Killer's stance was stiff. "I sent her back to find you. There were too many Marines here for me to handle while watching her."

Kid slammed his fist into the railing. "Damn it! When the hell does the fucking Log Prose set?!"

"It should be ready by the time the moon rises," one of the men answered.

Kid was glaring harshly at everyone before he turned and stomped down to his room. "Make sure everyone is fucking ready to leave the moment it's ready. Killer!"

Killer slowly followed his captain down to his room. He stepped silently in and closed the door, waiting for his anger to be unleashed.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing? She couldn't walk through that snow! And you even let some Marines get away so they could chase after her! What reason do I have for not snapping your neck in half right now?" Kid seethed.

"Presea," was the quiet reply.

Kid growled and turned his head away. He knew that would be the reason why. He didn't want to know how his sister would react if she knew he had killed her "other" brother. He slammed his fist onto his desk.

"We will have to head to Sabaody quickly. The Headquarters is nearby, and the Marines will most likely have to stop there anyways."

"Fine," Kid snapped. He waved his hand and Killer left quickly. "Why the hell do I ever let her out of my sight?" he growled.

* * *

Extras:

I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to wait this long to update, but I had a ton of assignments, and then I forgot about it, and then I had even more assignments! Please forgive me! My finals will be starting fairly soon, so I hope I can get one more update in before then, but if I don't, I hope you guys won't be too annoyed with me! But thank you all for reading this far! I can't believe I'm at 50 reviews! This story will end up passing Avengologers!

MsWildLuck- I absolutely love Tiki's new powers! I guess it probably doesn't make a lot of sense since he comes from Presea, but he is technically separate from her :p

.log- I'll try really hard to update quicker next time! I'm almost starting my finals though, but I'll try my best!

I-Write-Terrible-Stories- I am hoping that Law will finally be introduced in one or two chapters. Fingers crossed!

Miss Doflamingo- I love when Kid is so protective. It shows a side of him that no one ever gets to see when Presea's not around. I totally agree with you!

DevynSmith- Don't say it like that! You're going to give away all of my secrets! XD He he…

Girl-luvs-manga- I guess you will just have to wait and see what happens…

Rejar- Thank you! I kind of understand what you mean. I like using the flashbacks though, because they show a little bit more of what her life was like while she was alone.

robin3zoro- I will try really hard to be faster next time! I know people do this a lot, so because you are my 50th reviewer, is there anything special you would like to see/happen? I could do a little bonus thing at the end of the next chapter for you.


	12. Chapter 12: Fire Bird

I woke up slowly. _Where am I…?_ I lifted my head and moved to rub my eyes. My hand brushed against something cold and hard around my neck. _That's right… The Marines captured me…_ I felt bad for letting my brothers down.

I looked around but it was hard to see in the partial darkness. "What's that?" I moved a little closer to something and I heard a loud growl. I screamed as a tiger stepped towards me.

I almost collapsed and Tiki appeared in front of me. He had copied the tiger and was now standing over me, asserting his dominance over the other. He roared, the tiger finally backing away from us. He turned to speak to me when a door opened. He shrunk into a mouse and scurried away from me.

"What's going on in here?" a Marine yelled.

"There's a scary tiger in here!" I cried. Yes, I was scared, but I decided to make it sound a little worse to maybe get the Marines to drop their guard around me.

A second man scowled as he walked over to me and roughly picked me up. "I told them they shouldn't have left her down here. Now I got a headache."

He dragged me out of the room. I looked around once more before the door closed. _A tiger, a bunch of crates and- is that a giant bird?_ The door shut before I could take a second look.

"M-mister, why are you carrying caged animals on your ship?"

He was still scowling so the other one answered for him. "They are being delivered to the World Nobles."

That scared me. Brother was always telling me how horrible the Nobles were. "I-is that where I'm going, too?"

"No, no, no! You are being sent to Headquarters. You will get to talk with the Admirals when we get there. Don't worry; we're not going to attack you."

I sniffed. "But I don't want to talk to the Admirals… They're scary…"

The man holding me dropped me onto a couch. "Stop telling her stuff! She's probably going to try and use it against us somehow." He leaned close to me and glared. "Listen pirate, I don't trust you, just like you don't trust me. Do what I say and we won't have to see each other more than necessary."

"She's just a little kid; you don't have to be so harsh to her."

The man scoffed. "She's the spy's daughter and her brother is a pirate. There is no reason to trust her."

I sat up and moved closer to them. "You knew my dad? Was he really a spy?"

"Yes! He worked for that bastard Crocodile. At least the one is dead and the other is imprisoned."

His words made me a little sad. _Does that mean dad put everyone in danger without caring about us? Did dad hate us? But Ella said he was happy when he knew I was going to be born…_ Their words didn't match up and it confused me.

"There, there," the other Marine patted me on the back. "No need to cry over the past. Stay here for now and I'll go get you some food."

He left me alone in the room and I heard the lock click behind him. _I wonder what they're going to do to me while I'm here…_ I knew they couldn't hurt me too badly since I needed to arrive alive. I also knew they would want me fairly healthy if I was supposed to meet the Admirals. I shivered at the thought.

I jumped at a flicker of light at my feet. "Tiki!" I whispered. I quickly picked him up and set him on my knee.

"_I cannot stay long. I have to stay in a different form until you get that thing off of your neck or else I will disappear. I must go find some food to sustain myself, but I wanted you to know you are not alone. I am here so do not despair."_

I blinked back some tears and nodded. "Okay, Tiki. I'll stay strong for you. How did you get out? Can you maybe contact Brother?"

Tiki shook his small mouse head. _"I am not strong enough and it requires your power to speak through me. I believe I appeared because you needed me at that moment. The exertion almost made you faint, but the moment I had my own form, you were alright. I will be sure to find a way for us to escape. Good bye."_

He raced away when someone slowly opened the door. The nicer Marine held a tray of food and set it down on a small table. "Alright. Come over here and eat."

I carefully walked over to the table and sat down the furthest away from him. He chuckled as I picked at my food and avoided his gaze.

"A little shy, aren't you? How about you tell me a little bit about yourself. It must have been hard living on a ship with a bunch of men. Did they ever try anything with you?"

I glared at him. "My brothers and Papa would never let anyone do that to me." I crossed my arms with a huff and looked away from him.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Please eat your food. Your brother must be pretty nice to you. He's always looking after you, isn't he?"

I slowly went back to my food. "My brothers have always taken care of me. Brother gets really mad when someone tries to take me, though."

The Marine shook his head. "He can't do anything this time. I'm afraid he will have to give into our demands."

"What are your demands?" I was curious to know what they wanted to make him do.

"To give himself up without a fight. I doubt he would want to see you hurt."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're stupid. Brother won't do that. And if you try to do anything to me, he'll only get madder. Besides, Killer Brother and Papa wouldn't want to give up either."

The Marine leaned forward on his hands. "Massacre Soldier? He is your brother as well? And who is "Papa?""

I shook my head. "Killer Brother came to my island when I was little. And I'm not telling you anything else about Brother. I refuse to give him away to people like you."

The Marine laughed. "Like brother, like sister. I can definitely see the resemblance. Very well, would you like some information in return for what you gave me? I could tell you about your father."

I immediately stopped eating and looked at him. "You know stuff about my dad? What was he like? Was he really a spy? Who was Crocodile?"

He laughed again. "Hold your horses. Yes I knew him. He stayed to himself most of the time, though he always held his head high like he was better than most of us. I suppose that could be because of his affiliations. He was a hard worker and he never left out information in any of his reports. I wonder if it was because of Crocodile or that he simply liked to be thorough. Anyways, I was able to work with him before he was found out for his spying. This happened long before the Straw Hat Pirates fought Crocodile and beat him."

He cleared his throat before continuing. "Crocodile used to be a Shichibukai. Once the Straw Hat Pirates defeated him, we found out that he was going against the Government. Naturally, we had to imprison him. I suppose your next question will be about the Straw Hats." I nodded quickly. "Well then, continue eating and I'll explain. Monkey D. Luffy is the captain of the ship. He has caused a lot of trouble with the Government. His first mate is Roranoa Zoro. He used to be a bounty hunter."

I gasped. "Does that mean he would come after me?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "He is no longer a bounty hunter. Both him and his captain are extremely dangerous. They are part of the group that is dubbed "The Eleven Supernovas." Your brothers are each one."

I frowned. "So, the pirates my brother told me to avoid are the Supernovas?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. They all have bounties above 100 million beli. Your brother is the most dangerous, though. Straw Hat is behind him, followed by Basil Hawkins, X Drake, Trafalgar Law, and Scratchman Apoo. After that comes Killer, Jewelry Bonney, Capone Bege, Zoro, and finally Urouge. Honestly, Urouge and Bege would be the worst ones. The others would probably pay you little mind, as long as you didn't get in their way, of course."

I thought about that. "Brother said Luffy and Law were the most dangerous though."

"Well, I guess it depends. Luffy definitely has the next highest bounty, but there haven't been any reports of him attacking people like your brother does. And Trafalgar Law is known for experimenting on people, but he thinks everything through carefully. I do see your brother's point though. Law would be another you would want to avoid."

The Marine stood up and grabbed my plate when I finished. "There is a bathroom through that doorway if you wish to use it. We will keep you locked up in here for now, just to make sure you don't get into trouble while we are traveling."

I watched him leave before I walked over to the door. _Through here…?_ My mouth fell open when I saw it. It was as big as Kid's bathroom on the ship! "Wow… Do all Marines have a big bathroom like this one?"

I carefully walked around the room to look at everything. It was all so clean and pretty. I wasn't used to seeing things like this. _I miss my brother's ship though…_ I sighed before pulling my clothes off and climbing into the tub. _Literally_ climbing into it. I frowned when I was finally in. Did people really need to make tubs that tall?

I turned the water on so it was warm and filled it until it was up to my chest. I relaxed against the back and thought through the things the Marine had told me. _So dad worked for Crocodile who was a Shichibukai just like Mister Doflamingo. I wonder if he knew Crocodile or my dad._ I would have to remember to ask him the next time I saw him. Well, as long as I was alone. I doubted that my brothers would want to let me get close to him again.

_He said "like brother, like sister." Am I really that similar to Brother? I don't go out into the towns we find to destroy them. I'm not tall with red hair, either. Was he referring to what I said then?_ I shook my head. I was surprised that the Marine had commented on it.

"_Presea. Are you doing alright? I managed to find food for me to steal from some of the men aboard this vessel."_

"Tiki! You came back! The Marine who brought me food told me stuff about dad. I wonder if Brother knew everything he said…"

"_This is no time to worry about that. In the next couple of days, we need to escape. We are nearing their Headquarters and we will be stuck if we do not leave before then. Have you heard anything about how long exactly we have until then?"_ I shook my head in reply. _"Very well then. Listen for anything I may need to know. And make sure you are ready to leave within the next few days."_

Tiki crawled away, still in his mouse form. I was so glad that he was able to come out. I don't know what I would have done if Tiki hadn't been here. I probably would be taken to Headquarters without a chance for escape. I had to wonder though, why would the Admirals want to talk to me? I didn't have anything they wanted and I was only meant to bring my brother here, right?

I heard a knock on the door before it opened slightly. "Miss Eustass Presea? I was sent here to help you. Do you need anything right now?"

I drained the tub and grabbed a towel that was on the edge. "Um… I don't think I can get out of the tub…"

I heard a small laugh before the person entered. She was a tall lady with short brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. She put her hands under my armpits and lifted me out of the tub. "Anything else you need?" she asked, her green eyes sparkling with laughter.

I shook my head and she went to stand in the other room. I put my clothes back on and wandered out. The lady was sitting on the couch and she motioned for me to join her. I sat in the middle.

"So how is your stay on our ship so far?" She was brushing my hair while she talked.

"I woke up to a tiger growling at me."

She laughed. "Did they really leave you with the animals? I would have thought knowing that the Admirals wanted you would be a good enough reason to put you in here instead."

"Why do the Admirals want me?"

She hummed. "You see, your brother is extremely dangerous. Not only to the Government, but also to all of the islands he stops at. He is ruthless when it comes to killing other people."

"Some of that may be my fault… He gets mad when something happens to me. He didn't like when the creepy old man took me. He even told the crew they weren't allowed to touch me when I first got there."

"Old man? Were you perhaps at a desert island?"

I nodded with a grin. "Yup!"

"So it was Kid who killed him… Doflamingo simply said the man was killed before he could capture him…"

I kept my mouth shut at her words. I didn't know how they would react if I told them I knew Mister Doflamingo. The lady sighed.

"Never mind. Let's talk about you. Could you tell me about your devil fruit? It seems really interesting."

I nodded slowly. "I guess so."

"Is your power similar to Firefist's?"

"Who is Firefist?"

"His name is Portgas D. Ace. His devil fruit power is fire, just like yours. His body can turn into fire. He is currently being held at Headquarters until his execution."

"Oh…" I felt sorry for him. "My power isn't like his, though. I can't turn into fire."

The lady frowned before standing up. "Well then. I suppose I should get back to work. Have a good rest."

I watched her leave. _I wonder if that Ace person is feeling bad… I wonder if he has any family that will miss him… I don't want to make my brothers ever worry about me like that…_ The thought of waiting for my death made me shiver. I pushed it out of my brain.

"I wonder what time it is now." I looked out a small window in the corner. The sky was pitch black. "I guess it's night." I saw a few blankets sitting in the edge of the couch. _I guess I should try to sleep. I don't need to be tired when Tiki finally puts whatever plan he had into motion._ I pulled the blankets out and waited until I fell asleep.

* * *

The Marine cook watched another Marine closely as the man grabbed food. He could swear he had never seen the man before. He continued to watch as he walked away to sit down in a corner and eat the food. "We have such strange men on this ship," the cook mumbled.

The man who the cook had been watching before quickly ate his food. He made it sure no one saw him eat. He pulled his hat down further and walked out of the room to disappear into a dark storage room. He changed out of his clothes and then shrunk down to a mouse. _"Now I have enough sustenance to do what I need."_

Tiki snuck down the hallway, hiding in the shadows until he came to a large, heavy door.

* * *

I woke up quickly in the morning once I remembered where I was. I wondered where Tiki was until someone knocked on my door and entered. It was the Marine who had been talking to me while I was eating yesterday.

He set another plate on the table and sat down. "Come over and eat breakfast." I sat in the furthest chair from him again. "How was your sleep?"

I picked at my food. "Not very good. I miss my brothers…"

I saw his eyes sadden. "I know. I can't do anything for you though. I'm sorry."

I nodded at my food. I knew he wouldn't be able to do anything for me. He sighed and ran a hand under his hat and through his hair.

"I really am sorry. I heard you talked to Caitlyn last night. So your power is fire, but you can't become it?"

I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about this. I don't want you to tell them more about me so that they can hurt me like you hurt Ace."

"When did you learn about Ace?"

"The lady told me. She said he was being held until his execution. I feel bad for him… Won't his family miss him?"

The Marine frowned. "He is a pirate. It is by his choice that he got into this position. Had he stayed quiet, we would not have found out about him being Gol D. Roger's son."

My eyes widened. I had heard about Roger. My brother used to talk about him all the time, especially since he wanted to be the one to find One Piece. The Marine looked like he was mad at himself for saying that.

"Damn it; please don't tell anyone I told you that. It was supposed to be kept secret until the actual execution."

I nodded slowly. Perhaps it was something I could tell my brothers about later on. The ship suddenly rocked and I almost fell out of my chair. "W-what's going on?"

The Marine got up and ran out of the room. "Stay here!"

I fell to the floor as the ship rocked again. Another Marine came into the room. I moved away from him as he walked closer to me. He grabbed my arm with a hiss. _"Quit backing away from me. Let's go before he comes back."_

"T-Tiki?" I was surprised. He must have copied another Marine's form. He even wore the Marine uniform.

He placed a hand close to the sea stone collar around my neck. I could feel something vaguely warm as I heard a small hiss. I was shocked to see that he had actually melted it off of me. _It's possible to do that…?_

He picked me up and walked swiftly to the door. _"We have to get to the deck. We don't have much time left. I managed to force the ship to rock once and they will know that it is finished by now. This will be the only chance to escape!"_

The moment we stepped onto the deck, at least six swords and eight guns were pointed at us. "Well, well, well. I knew someone was going to help her escape, but I didn't know it would be a Marine. What's your name?" the man who had brought me food commanded.

Tiki hissed and set me down before stepping in front of me. _"You Marines are all the same. I am Tiki."_ His words were punctuated by the sudden flicker of his fire as it ate away at his clothes until they were gone. _"And no one will take Presea away from her family again!"_

His form changed swiftly from human to bird. He had somehow copied the huge bird that was caged inside of the ship. He flapped his wings with a screech and I jumped onto his back. He pushed off the deck, flying higher until we were safe from the Marines. They didn't dare try to shoot us when they knew I could be hit.

"Tiki! Do you know where we're going?" I yelled over the wind.

He shook his head with a screech. I huddled closer to his body as we flew. The wind whipped at my face and arms, slowly making me colder. I shivered. _Tiki will have a general idea of where my brothers are. I hope we're going the right way…_

Tiki would flap his wings every so often, but for most of the time, he was just riding the winds. I couldn't keep track of the time, but the sun was high in the sky by now. I shivered again and made a little flame in my hands to warm me up. _Wait. If I make a flame on the ship, I should be able to tell where it is, right?_ I focused everything on making another flame pop up.

Something chose that moment to fly to close to Tiki, forcing him to swerve out of the way. I fell backwards off of him, reaching and missing the edge of his fire-feathers. I opened my mouth to scream as I fell towards the ocean.

Suddenly Tiki was beside me as I fell, his talons gripping me around my torso. His wings opened wide again and the wind forced him back up. I could feel my heart very slowly going back to normal as we rode the winds again.

_If I could yell at Tiki for scaring me like that, I would…_ I shook the thought out of my head and concentrated once more. After a few moments, I felt the second flame flicker to life. "Tiki! Turn slightly more to the right! We're getting closer to the ship!"

* * *

Kid growled as he paced around his room. They were never going to catch up to the Marine ship in time! He slammed his fist onto the wall. "If I hadn't let them go out there alone… No. If Killer hadn't let her run away and get captured, none of this would have happened!"

Kid stormed out of his room, searching different rooms for his first mate. When he came to the deck, he saw him standing off to the side. He walked up to him and punched him hard in the shoulder.

"Kid? What-"

"Shut up!" Kid snapped. "If hadn't fucking let her run away on her own, she wouldn't have been caught by the bastards!" He punched Killer again in the shoulder. He was beginning to wish he hadn't let the man wear a helmet all of the time.

Killer raised his hands, undoing his helmet and putting it to the side. "Hit me then."

Kid punched him harder than last time. Killer held a hand to his stinging cheek, but he didn't move away.

"You fucking, stupid bastard! This is your fault! I should never have trusted you with her!" Kid's reasoning was gone. He wanted to kill someone for taking his sister away.

Killer fell to the ground with the next punch. "I know. I deserve it. But no matter how hard you hit me, it will never be as hard as I've kicked myself."

Kid clenched his fists. "Why do you make it so goddamn hard to hate you?!"

* * *

"There it is!" I yelled.

I could finally see our ship. Something was wrong though. I could see part of the crew surrounding my brothers on the deck. _What's going on?_ I saw Kid punch Killer and then Killer fell to the ground. _Killer Brother!_ I squirmed in Tiki's grasp. I had to hurry!

He swooped in close, none of the men noticing since they were all frozen by Kid's rage. Tiki released me when we were close enough and I dropped in between my brothers.

Kid's eyes widened completely as he stared at me. "P-Presea," he breathed. He knelt down and held me tightly. "How the hell did you get away? Did those bastards do anything to you?"

I hugged him back. "No. Tiki saved me," I whispered. "But why did you hit Killer Brother?" He pulled away to look at me. I stepped backwards and held my arms out. "No one's supposed to hit Killer Brother anymore."

"Presea, it's fine." Killer sat up more and wiped his mouth. "I deserved it."

I cried when I heard him. "No!" I fell into his lap and hugged him as tight as I could. "No one is supposed to hit you anymore! You never deserve to get hit! Never, ever!"

* * *

-Killer's Past—

"Get out of the way, useless boy," a shopkeeper growled as he pushed a small blonde haired boy into the dirt.

The boy stayed silent. He got up, dusted himself off, and then walked away. He was used to it. He knew none of the villagers like him. They never had.

"Get out of the way, boy!" one of the women screeched at him.

He ducked away from her hand as she swung at him. He froze when he saw her glare. Someone else grabbed his arm and tugged him along to the center of town. The boy had long given up on trying to run away from them.

He was tied up and every member of the town came forward to hit him. Sometimes once, sometimes twice. The boy would always go to sleep with bruises forming on his body. Someone kicked him harshly in the chest and he fell over, coughing.

"That's what you get, boy," the man sneered at him.

The boy didn't remember what he had done to deserve this. The townspeople would only say that he would kill things. They always said he had killed something. The boy knew it wasn't him, but no one would listen.

Another kick to his chest. The boy coughed up blood this time. He could hear murmurs of disgust.

"His blood will stain the wood. We will have to remember to burn it so it doesn't affect anything else," one woman said with disdain.

He would have put his hands over the spots where he had been kicked, but that was the reason they would tie him up. They didn't want him to protect himself against their attacks. They continued to hurt him: punching his face, hitting his arms, kicking his legs. Finally they were satisfied.

The boy fell with a thud to the ground when the ropes were loosened. "Remember your lesson this time, boy," someone hissed.

He didn't need the lesson. It was someone else who did.

He slowly got to his feet after a few minutes and walked into the forest where he lived. There was an abandoned shack that he had found a long time ago and he had lived there ever since. It allowed him to get away from the people. He didn't trust them to not sneak into his room while he slept to cut his throat open. That was why he lived in the forest.

He collapsed on his bed and fell into a fitful sleep as always.

* * *

When he woke, he checked his body for the usual bruises. He could see the black and purple spots decorate his skin. He silently covered them back up and walked back into town.

He wasn't allowed to not come into town. He used to try hiding in the forest for days at a time so they wouldn't have a reason to hit him. But then they would hit him harder, saying that he must have been killing something. He learned to come to town every day, to let himself get shoved around by the men, and then smacked by the women. When he dodged them, they would tie him up and hit him again.

The boy stumbled a few times as he walked through the town. The bruises on his legs were hurting him, but he tried to ignore them. There wasn't anything he could do for them anyways. He could see the people scowling at him, but he ignored them.

He eventually walked through the whole town and went into the forest at the opposite end. There was a cold stream somewhere that would help his body feel better. He stopped when he heard a loud crunch of branches. The boy slowly walked towards the sound, making sure he was hidden behind the trees. He mouth dropped when he saw someone bending over a cat's corpse. The man stood up and looked directly at him.

"I see you found me." He brushed his hands on his pants. "Not that it will do you any good."

The boy stumbled backwards. "You- you killed it."

The man chuckled. "You're a little bit slow. Yes I did. There's no pint telling anyone though. Do you think they would listen? For that matter, do you think they would care?" The man walked closer. "Haven't you ever wondered why they didn't question hitting you over the littlest things? Haven't you ever thought about how quickly they are to blame you for something you always said you didn't do?"

The boy tripped and fell to the ground. "T-they said-"

"They blame you. We all blame you. There are times when we can't hold our anger in and we lash out at something. It's much simpler to blame you for everything that happened. It is something the town agreed on unanimously."

The boy lowered his head. He knew the people didn't like him, but he didn't realize how much they hated him. The man walked past him, waving a dagger in the air.

"You might as well come back to town. They'll want to punish you again."

The boy sat still for a while. He knew the man was telling the truth, but he didn't want to go back to be hit again. His body still hurt from the last beating he got. He slowly stood and wandered deeper into the forest. He hoped after he had found the stream and stayed there for a while, they would forget about him.

* * *

It was a vain hope.

When the boy walked into town, there were many people waiting for him. The butcher walked up to him with a scowl. "You killed another one of our pets! How dare you do something so horrible to us!"

The boy stepped back. "I-it wasn't me."

The butcher's scowl deepened. "And now you talk back to me?" He swung a small axe at the boy who tried to dodge it. "Come back here and let me slice you open!"

The boy ran away, clutching his cheek. He could feel blood running between his fingers as we ran into a tiny shed at the edge of town. He searched for something, _anything_, that could help him. His fingers curled around a scythe. He also picked up two smaller axes and set the in his belt. He gripped the scythe in both hands tightly as he slowly left the shed.

The butcher was at the front of the group surrounding the shed. The boy could tell he had to either kill everyone, or be killed. He could hear angry words rush out from the people.

"Give yourself up, boy. You're a bastard you shouldn't be living anymore. You deserve the pain and suffering you had given us."

The people nodded in agreement.

"It wasn't me! It was the man in the black suit!"

The people were all glaring at him now. "Shut up, boy! Just sit still and take your punishment like the animal you are!"

The boy rushed towards the butcher. He slashed his wrist and stole the axe. Before the butcher could try anything, the boy imbedded it into his neck. The man fell to the ground, blood pooling from the wound. It was silent for a moment.

"How dare you!" someone screeched.

That's when they all converged on him.

* * *

The boy limped towards the ocean. He had killed everyone in the town. The women had begun to fight against him at some time during the fight. Some of the wielded guns while others had swords. He didn't care that they were women. He killed them to protect himself.

He reached a small boat that was sitting on the shore. He had been walking back and forth between it and the town to fill it with supplies. He dropped the last of the food he grabbed and turned around. He had set some of the buildings on fire and they now burned brightly in the distance.

The boy slowly pushed the boat into the water and climbed in. He could finally leave the island and maybe even live without being beaten every day of his life.

-End—

* * *

Killer carefully picked me up and carried me towards the inside of the ship. I saw Tiki land on the upper railing of the deck as he glared down at Kid. "Tiki, be nice," I mumbled.

Kid glared back at the flaming bird. "Your damn ember changed again? I suppose I have you to thank for saving my sister."

Tiki slowly changed until he was in a human form. _"You can thank the Marine's for having a tiger on their ship. It allowed me to force myself out."_

Kid snorted and walked inside. Killer followed him as I heard Tiki ask Mister Cook about getting food. We went to Killer's room inside of Kid's. _I wonder why we came here._ Killer sat on the bed and I hugged him tighter.

"What all happened on the ship?"

"The Marine told me that the Admirals wanted to talk to me. They wouldn't say why I was wanted except for that you were dangerous and they needed to stop you." Kid snorted again. I continued when he didn't say anything. "The lady Marine was trying to get me to tell her about my devil fruit. She wanted to know if it was like Firefist's."

"Your power is nothing like his," Killer noted.

I shook my head. "She said Ace is going to be executed."

"What?" Kid's voice was shocked. "How the hell did they catch him?"

"They never told me. The other Marine said he had to be killed because he is Roger's child."

The air stilled and grew heavy. "Roger had a son?" Killer asked quietly.

Kid swore. "No wonder they want to kill him. We'll have to be even more on guard when we reach Sabaody. They must have all of their higher ups at Headquarters right now."

I nodded. My eyes were beginning to get heavy. _I wonder if Tiki changed back yet._

* * *

Kid ran his fingers through his hair. Killer was still holding tightly to his sister even though she had fallen asleep. "Why are you so hard to hate?" he mumbled to himself.

"Presea," Killer answered.

Kid knew that. The answer was always his sister when it came to something like this. "You're fucking lucky she loves you so much, or you wouldn't even be here now," Kid grumbled.

Killer smiled slightly. His helmet was still on the deck. "I know. She loves you even more," he added as Kid left the room.

Kid looked back at him. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

Extras:

Holy cow! That was a seriously long chapter! I hope this helps make up for my lack of posting before! And Tiki eating a fruit was actually DevynSmith's idea! I forgot to say that last chapter! And I know there are a lot more than two islands before Sabaody, but I'm getting impatient for meeting Law :p You can always ask me to write little extra things at the end of other chapters if you want to read about more Grand Line islands!

MsWildLuck- I'm almost there! They will be at Sabaody next chapter, so you'll just have to wait and see when Law shows up :D

10th Squad 3rd Seat- Killer hated himself for letting her get caught. He didn't even try to fight back against Kid when he hit him.

DevynSmith- I'M SORRY! I FORGOT TO SAY IT WAS YOUR IDEA! FORGIVE ME!

Miss Doflamingo- Hahaha! I'm sorry! You don't have to worry though. I will not post an author's note! And yes! Law will be showing up soon!

.log- Thank you for understanding! And Presea will be learning a little bit more about fighting soon. At the moment, Tiki and her bow are the only fighting she can do (though Tiki doesn't exactly count). And thank you very much! I'll try my best on my exams!

Girl-luvs-manga- Nope! It was Tiki who saved her! A nice little twist XD


	13. Chapter 13: Mister Heart

I woke up quickly. The sun was shining brightly in my eyes and it took me a moment to remember where I was. I sighed and relaxed when I recognized Killer's room. _I escaped…_ It felt like a dream. _But Killer Brother… Brother should never have hit you… Why did he?_

I froze when I heard something move next to me. Killer was sleeping still. _Wha- Killer Brother? How early is it if you're still asleep?_ I was a little surprised. I never woke up while he was in the room in the morning, let alone while he was sleeping. I smiled lightly as I watched him. He was so much more relaxed when he slept.

He turned his head so the scar was facing me. I frowned as I looked at it. "That never should have happened," I whispered. It was so unfair to him…

"It's fine."

I jumped as he spoke. He slowly sat up so his bangs covered his eyes again.

"U-um, I-I'm-"

"Don't worry about it." He shook his head. "If I hadn't gotten this, where do you think I would be?"

I lowered my head. "At your island."

He nodded. "Exactly. So is it such a bad thing?"

"No." My answers were slowly getting quieter. I knew what he was saying was true, but still…

He placed his hand under my chin and lifted my head up. "I've told you before: don't worry about it. You helped it heal as much as you could and you accepted me into your family. You've done more than enough."

"You don't deserve to be hit."

I didn't care what he would say. That was one point I would never let go of. No one ever deserved to be hit. I would even fight against my brother if he tried to tell me otherwise.

Killer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I glimpsed his blue eyes before the hair fell in front again. He was starting to get frustrated with me. "Kid hit me because he is the captain. I let the Marines capture you, so he has every right to punish me as he wishes. Even though you are his sister, you cannot interfere." His final sentence cut through my argument.

There was nothing I could say back to him. He had a point; my brother was captain and he could do whatever he wanted to do with his crew. I was only his sister. If I had no relations on this ship, I knew I would already be dead. I grimaced slightly when I thought of that. _Being related to Brother is the only thing keeping me alive now, isn't it?_ It gave me an idea though.

"Killer Brother," I asked hesitantly. I wasn't sure how he would answer me. "Could you teach me how to fight…?"

I could see him frown slightly. "Why do you ask?"

I fiddled with the edge of the blanket. "Well, Marines and other pirates will keep me alive because I'm related to Brother, right? If I knew how to fight, then maybe I wouldn't have been captured last time…"

Killer covered his face with his hand and sighed. "You have a bow, do you not? Why do you need to learn something else?"

That was a little difficult to explain. "Bows are meant for long range fighting, and everyone else fights close up with blades…"

Killer seemed to think about it for a while. I thought it was a reasonable request. I wasn't asking to fight on the front lines; I just wanted to have one more way to protect myself. _Then maybe Brother won't get mad at Killer Brother again…_ No, I wouldn't let myself get captured. I would try even harder than last time.

"It's not my decision."

Killer got up and pulled his shirt on. I should have known he would say something like that. I followed suit and looked for the clothes I had left in his room from a long time ago. I pulled on my long sleeved black shirt. It had gold colored stitching from the shoulders to my elbows for decoration. Next, I grabbed my red frilled skirt. It was slightly poofy with gold lines going around the edge of it. I grabbed two black ribbons finally and pulled my hair back into ponytails so that my hair was pointing down behind my back.

I followed Killer out of his room and down the hallway to the mess hall. Mister Cook was in the kitchen making breakfast for the crew. Killer placed a hand on my shoulder, forcing me back into my chair when I tried to get up to help Mister Cook. I looked at him questioningly, but he didn't reply. I let out a quiet huff, but I stayed sitting like he wanted me to.

Mister Cook stepped out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of food. He set them down in front of us before sitting across the table. He looked like he was waiting for something.

"Do you still have extra daggers hidden away?" Killer asked suddenly.

Mister Cook nodded. "There are three left in the kitchen. Do you want them out now?"

Mister Cook stood up and walked back into the kitchen. He knew the answer without needing to wait for Killer's reply. He came back out with two shorter daggers that were almost as long as my forearm as well as a longer one that would look like a sword in my hands. He carefully set them on the table

"Does she finally want to learn more?" he asked quietly.

Killer nodded slightly. "Kid has to give his consent first."

I frowned at the two men. _I'm still in the room! Why do people talk like I'm not here? Grandpa would always do that to me, too. I wonder why people ignore me._ I watched them closely. They seemed to be communicating without speaking now. Killer would dip his head slightly and Mister Cook would frown or nod back. What did it all mean?

I heard the door slam open as one of the men ran in. "Sabaody Archipelago is in sight and we're approaching quickly."

Killer nodded and stood. "Very well. Get the men ready to dock. Presea," he turned to me. "Go get Kid and tell him we're about to dock."

I grinned and raced from the room. Images flashed through my mind as I ran to Kid's bedroom. _What will it be like there? Brother said it was a bunch of little islands that were connected together. Will there be a lot of Marines around? Will my brothers get into a lot of fights? I hope not. I don't want to get in the way or get captured again._ I stopped for a second before pushing Kid's door open and jumping onto his bed.

"Brother! Killer Brother says we're going to dock soon!"

I heard him groan beneath me. "Presea, why did you jump on me?"

I grinned. "Because you wouldn't have gotten up otherwise."

He sat up slowly and shot me a light glare. He sighed and the glare dropped. "You know me too well," he said with a soft smile. He suddenly stood up and I rolled off of him. He chuckled and reached for his jacket. "Now let's get going before the men get impatient."

I gripped his hand and we walked onto the deck. I was shocked at how close the archipelago was. I knew the man said we were getting closer, but I didn't expect this. We were just starting to go under some of the trees and it was amazing. _I can't believe that the islands are all trees! They're so huge!_ I gaped open mouthed at the wonders in front of me.

"Alright men. Keep out of the Marine islands here and don't get into much trouble. That's my job," Kid smirked. I could hear some of the men chuckle. "Split into your groups to get a few supplies. Our kitchen seems to be getting a little empty."

His last comment seemed to be pointed at a couple of the men. They shifted their feet slightly at his hard gaze, though they didn't look away in fear. _I bet any other man would. I wonder what they did to make Brother mad. They must have stolen food from the kitchen when they got hungry instead of waiting like they were supposed to._ I giggled quietly, but didn't say anything.

Heat walked up behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Are we going together, Papa?" I asked excitedly. It had been a while since I had last walked around with him.

He nodded in his usual solemn manner. Kid glanced over at us and frowned. "Don't you dare let something happen to her, Heat, or else I'll rip your guts out."

Heat nodded again and we set off. I was finally at the archipelago that my brothers would always talk about! I was so excited, especially since they weren't going to make me stay with them all day at a bar. Killer stopped me as we left the ship. "Be careful out there," he whispered.

He patted me on the back, pushing me back towards Heat. I smiled at him. "I promise."

_He's worried about me… He's so nice to me._ My brothers were always trying to help me. I bet Kid was worried too, but he wouldn't want to say anything in front of the crew. He was known as the most bloodthirsty pirate on any sea. I didn't mind though. I loved him just the way he was.

"So where are we going first, little Presea?"

* * *

Shachi sighed and pushed his hands in his pockets. He was tired, bored, and he was getting a headache. "Geez, where is Penguin and everyone else?" he muttered. He paused at the opening of an alleyway. "What the hell?"

* * *

I struggled in the ugly man's grip. "Let me go!"

He chuckled, his voice deep and menacing. "Come on, girlie, let's go have some fun."

I glared at him. Any time I had tried to scream before, he had smacked the side of my head, telling me to be quiet. _How did I get separated from Papa? We were standing by a store and then he disappeared… Please don't be mad at me, Killer Brother… I'm sorry I broke my promise._ "I hope pirates find you and rip you to shreds before my brothers can find you," I spat.

The man stopped for a moment before laughing loudly. "You little bitch! You think you can threaten me? Pirates are scum, the worst of the worst. They would be too weak to come after me."

"Who is weak?" a cold voice asked.

I looked to the entrance of the alley. There was someone standing there, their suit and hat slightly dirty from use. There was a small picture on the front, but I couldn't quite see it. What I could see was how mad he was at the man's words.

"I asked you, who is weak?"

The man walked closer to the ugly man, the latter taking a small step away from me. I glanced between the two men. The ugly one was glaring harshly at the other. "Pirate scum," he spat. "What are you here for?"

I shivered slightly as the other's aura grew colder. "Insulting me is one thing, but if you insult my captain, your life will end quickly."

His hand shot out, latching onto the ugly man's throat. He thrashed around, his punches landing on the man's cheeks, but he never flinched. The ugly man slowly grew weaker until his labored breathing died and the man threw him to the ground. I stood still as I watched him carefully.

"Tch, idiot. Insulting a pirate is the quickest way to die."

I slowly moved away from the wall. "W-why did you help me?"

He glanced at me and sighed. "I heard him bashing pirates, so I decided to teach him a lesson. Besides, I feel so much better after beating the shit out of someone. Who are you anyways?"

I gripped the edge of my skirt on shifted my feet. _Will he try to capture me if he knows who I am?_ I decided to try. "M-my name's Presea."

He grinned at me, the coldness disappearing immediately. "Nice to meet you. I'm a Heart Pirate."

"N-nice to meet you, too, Mister Heart."

He shook his head. "No, no. My name's Shachi, not Heart," he sweat dropped slightly.

I gasped when I saw the cut on his forehead. "You got hurt! Come with me; I'll get something for you."

I pulled him out of the alley, searching for the store I saw just a few minutes before. I found it fairly quickly, thankfully. When I saw the scratch on Shachi's cheek, I felt like I was seeing Killer again. Terror shot through me for a moment before I snapped out of it. _It's not Killer Brother, Killer Brother is fine._ I didn't want to see him hurt again.

I stepped into the store while Shachi stayed outside. I walked up to the counter where a lady was standing. "Do you have any bandages? My friend is hurt and I need just a little to cover his wound."

The lady looked down at me, a small grimace on her face. "Do you have money to pay for it?"

I nodded. "Of course." Heat had given me some to hold onto before we were separated. _I wonder where he went and if he's alright…_

The lady gave me a curt nod. "That's one hundred beli and here is your bandage."

She took the money from my hand and replaced it with the bandage. I thanked her quickly and left. I breathed a small sigh of relief when I saw that Shachi was still there. I smiled at him and stepped onto a crate that he was next to so I could reach the cut. I pulled a small tube out of a hidden pocket and used it to clean the cut first. I stopped when I heard him chuckle.

"You're just like Captain. He always cleans the cut before the bandage goes on. He gets mad at anyone who doesn't clean it beforehand." He chuckled again.

I placed the bandage on him when I was done. I hopped off the crate and looked up at him. He was smiling lightly at me. "Thanks for the help. You said your name is Presea, right? Where were you going? Maybe I can help you."

Could I tell him about my brothers? It would be safer to not mention them for now, I think. "I'm looking for someone. He's really tall and has light blue hair."

Shachi scratched his chin. "Blue hair… I'm not sure if I saw someone like that before. How about we walk around for now and look for him? I'm searching for the rest of my crew anyways."

I nodded and grinned up at him. "Alright!"

We walked around the nearby islands as we searched for his crew and Heat. We talked while we were looking, though not about anything really important. Shachi would tell me a little bit about his friend, Penguin, (who I thought was his pet until he laughed at me for saying so) and I told him a little about myself.

"You're a pirate? No way! What ship are you on?"

"Um…" I looked around nervously. _What should I say?_ "It's the- Shachi!"

He spun around quickly, glaring when he saw me getting pulled through the crowd by two big men. He pushed his way through the people that were between us, never falling behind.

"Oi, bastards! Let her go!"

One man turned around and laughed, his voice booming. "Just give up, pirate. She's coming with us to the slave auction."

My eyes widened and I struggled harder. _I don't want to be sold as a slave!_ Shachi looked even angrier than he had before. He jumped up out of the crowd and shot down, his leg kicking out when he was close to the loud man. He slammed into the ground and the other one picked me up, holding a dagger to my throat. I froze when I felt the cold blade.

Shachi stood up slowly, carefully turning towards the second man. "You'd better let her go before I have to destroy you."

The other man was laughing now. "You're completely alone! Your captain isn't even here to back you up!"

Shachi ran forward and everything seemed to slow down. I pushed against the man, my bow slightly digging into my back. Then everything turned red for a second and Tiki flared into life just long enough to force the man to release me. I fell to the ground and rolled out of the way. _Thank you, Tiki…_ My bow slid off my back and was in my hands in one fluid motion. I pulled one arrow out of my quiver and held it steady as I aimed. _I have to be careful so that I don't hit Shachi…_ I took a deep breath and watched them.

Shachi kicked the man who blocked it and came in with a punch. Shachi jumped back out of the way and I released my arrow. He stopped and looked around in confusion when the man fell after being pierced in the heart. I lowered my bow with a sigh. _I didn't hit Shachi… Thanks goodness._ I gave him a nervous smile when he turned to look at me.

"Did you do that?" he asked amazed.

I gripped my bow tighter and nodded. "Y-yeah."

He walked up to me and picked me up. "Wow! That was amazing! I've never seen anyone shoot a bow with that much accuracy! You have to be the best archer around," he grinned.

_He's… proud of me?_ I smiled back at him and gave him a hug. "Thank you for saving me."

"I couldn't just sit and watch you get taken away by slave traders."

_He reminds me of an uncle. Trying to laugh and make me happy, but the moment I'm in trouble, he becomes protective._ I giggled to myself. "Uncle Shachi."

I saw him blush slightly and he looked a little surprised. "W-what?"

I laughed. "You remind me of an uncle, so I'm going to call you Uncle Shachi. Does it bother you?"

He smiled slightly. "N-not at all."

"And who would this be?"

Shachi turned around at a voice and immediately set me down. "Captain! This is Presea. I was helping her find someone since she helped me." He lightly placed his hand on the bandage.

I looked up at the tall man who stood in front of us. He was gripping a sword that was as tall as he was. _He's not as tall as Brother, but he's taller than Uncle Shachi. Did he say Captain?_ "It's nice to meet you, Mister Heart."

"Little Presea!"

I looked around to find who called me. I gasped, "Papa!"

I ran over to him and he picked me up. "Are you alright? I couldn't find you before. Master Kid would kill me if he knew you were out here alone." Heat's voice was thick with worry.

I smiled at him. "I'm okay, Papa. You don't need to tell Brother about this because nothing bad happened."

I could almost see relief take over. "Let's get back to the ship before anything else happens."

As he walked away, I looked over his shoulder and waved at the two people we were leaving behind. "Bye, Uncle Shachi! Bye, Mister Heart!"

* * *

Shachi watched the girl leave. His captain smirked and chuckled quietly. "What an interesting woman."

Shachi looked over in confusion. "Um, don't you mean little girl, Captain?"

He pictured her in his mind. "You really are blind, Shachi," he chuckled.

* * *

I woke up back at the ship. _I must have fallen asleep while Papa was carrying me…_ I sat up in the bed and looked around the room. I was fairly sure that I was in Heat's room since I could see three other beds. I found my bow in the corner and placed it on my back, as usual. I wandered around the ship until I came across one crew member.

"Copper, where did everyone go?"

He looked down at me before extending his hand. "We are to meet up at the Auction House. I shall carry you there."

Copper picked me up and we set off to this 'auction house.' He explained it to me, saying that that was where slaves were sold and bought._ That's where I could have ended up if it weren't for Uncle Shachi._ It was a scary thought. We had to stop when we were close to the building. Copper quickly set me on the ground and knelt so he was covering me.

"Copper, what are you-"

"Shh. The Celestial Dragons will hear you."

I could barely see people walk by, two of them in white suits and the rest were in ragged clothes with collars on their necks. _The poor people… They must be slaves to the Dragons…_ I felt sorry for all of them, including the giant who was on a chain behind them. _They must hate their lives now…_

We set off again after the group was far away from us. I could tell Copper hated having to kneel to the Dragons, but he also knew what would happen if he didn't.

"They would kill us?"

He nodded silently. "Whatever they want, they get. It is a disgusting way to live here."

_How terrible…_ We walked in silence for the rest of the way. I could see the building now, as well as the giant from before. There was no one around. "Copper, can you set me down?" I walked towards the giant when I was down. "Don't worry, I won't do anything bad," I said when he tried to argue.

I walked up to the giant who was sitting on the ground. "What do you want, little child?"

His voice was deeper than I thought it would be. _He's so big…_ "U-um, I just wanted you to know that I would help you if I could…"

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why would you tell me this?"

"Because it's not fair to you to be stuck with the Dragons when you have no choice in the matter. You should know that at least one person cares about you…"

It looked like his face softened. "Then, thank you for your kind words, child."

I waved to him and walked back to Copper. He pulled me inside through the massive doors. It was dark inside the hall and I could hardly see anything at first.

"Copper, bring her over here."

I looked around for the source of the voice. When Copper pushed me towards someone, I grinned. "Brother!" I ran up to him and gave him a hug.

He chuckled quietly. "Finally woke up, did you? We just got here."

I nodded. "We would have been here earlier, but we had to stop to let the Dragons pass by. Don't worry though, nothing happened."

Copper joined the rest of the crew that was here and I moved so I was standing between my brothers. It looked like the auction had just started, so we hadn't missed much. _Disgusting thought… I'd rather not see any of it…_ It was disturbing. I hid my face in the edge of Kid's jacket after seeing only two slaves be auctioned off. I felt him place a hand on my head to calm me down.

"That's Trafalgar Law. I've heard rumors about him and they weren't pleasant. His manners aren't too good either," Kid grumbled to Killer.

I looked out from behind Kid to see who he was talking about. My eyes widened when I saw the man give Kid the finger. _I-it's Uncle Shachi's captain! He's Law?! I hope Brother doesn't find out I met him…_ I saw his eyes flick to mine for a moment and he smirked. He remembered me.

I hid again. I didn't want Kid to know about that and I didn't want Law to be watching me either. At some point while I was hiding, part of the Straw Hat crew showed up. I could hear Kid talking quietly about it with Killer. It sounded like he wanted to meet Luffy to see if he was as crazy as the papers made him sound.

He was.

I gaped openly as he punched a Celestial Dragon. All because he wanted to save the mermaid and then avenge his fishman friend who was shot by the Dragon. _We're going to be attacked by the Marines…_ I clutched Kid's coat tighter, afraid I would be captured again. All of the knights in the building were now fighting the Straw Hat Pirates. None of them went after us or the Heart Pirates, surprisingly. I watched the fight go on until the female Dragon held a gun to the mermaid's head. Before she could pull the trigger, she fell to the ground.

An old man walked out of a hole in the stage wall followed by a giant that was close to the same size as the giant I had met outside. I felt something strange pass over me and all of the knights collapsed. I swayed slightly on my feet. _I have to stay by Brother or else someone could take me again!_ I felt myself grow stronger again when my resolve strengthened.

I heard Law speak up to answer something that one of the Straw Hats said. "The Marines are already here."

I tugged on Kid's jacket. "We need to get out of here, Brother."

"Who are you? And what's with the polar bear?"

Luffy was right. Law did have a polar bear. _I wonder why the bear is on his crew…_

"That's Trafalgar Law. And that's Eustass Kid," the black haired Straw Hat said.

"What's with the little girl?" Luffy asked next.

"I would assume that would be Eustass Presea, his sister," she answered him.

Kid glared at them. "Don't talk about my sister," he spat. He walked away from me and towards the door. "I'll get rid of the Marines for you, as a favor."

Both Luffy and Law got mad at his words. They were arguing about who would fight the Marines. _Why are they arguing with each other?_ Killer knelt next to me. "Kid is trying to clear a path for us so we can get you out of here safely," he whispered.

I held onto his hand as he stood up. It felt like people were staring at me now that I couldn't hide behind my brother. I could see Shachi watching me, but he was probably surprised about who I was since I never did tell him what crew I was on. And a few of the Straw Hats were staring as well. I jumped when I heard the old man laugh.

"You have a pretty strong will, girl. Never lose it."

I looked at him in confusion. I had no idea what he meant by that. And I couldn't ask him either. Weapons began to rise off the floor and shoot out of the building. I looked at Killer and he nodded. Our crew walked outside along with the other two. I was a little surprised at how much damage there was, though I was used to seeing my brother tear towns apart in only a few minutes. I watched Killer jump into the way of a blade meant for Kid, killing the attacking Marine. I breathed a sigh of relief when they were both fine.

"I guess we should help, too! Let's go, Tiki!"

I summoned him with a smile on my face. He grew in my hand, his shape rippling slightly. I let him fall to the ground at a larger tremor in his form and when he hit the ground, he was crouched on all fours of his tiger shape. He growled at the Marines who were close to us.

"Wow! You have a fire tiger! You should join my crew!" Luffy yelled.

Kid snarled at him as the black haired girl spoke up. "Now Luffy, she is on her brother's ship. Would you want someone to take one of us from your crew?"

He frowned and pouted. "No."

She chuckled. "Then she can't join our crew. Besides, I bet she wants to stay with her brother anyways."

I placed my hand on Tiki's back. "They're different," I murmured.

"_They are as different from our crew as we are from the Heart Pirates. No two crews are the exact same. Now climb onto my back so we can follow your brothers out of the battlefield."_

I did as he told me. He trotted up to where my brothers were and waited for them to move out. "You'd better not let her fall, Demon," Kid growled.

Tiki huffed. _"She will stay on as long as she does not let go."_

Kid glared at him once more before turning and leading everyone away. He slashed through any Marines that stood in our way with weapons he summoned to himself. After we crossed a bridge, we hardly ran into any enemies. I'm not sure if it was because there were no men stationed over here or if they had ran away. Either way, it was easier for us.

I almost fell when Tiki suddenly stopped. He was growling at something and I looked up to find out who he was doing that to. There was someone at the edge of the clearing we were in. "Shit, what's a Warlord doing here?" Kid hissed.

_A Warlord? Mister Doflamingo is one, isn't he? It must be a bad thing if both Brother and Killer Brother are worried._ I could tell how tense they were without even looking at them. I knew that everyone was feeling that way. Kid summoned nearby weapons to himself to create a metal arm for himself. Tiki backed up until we were at the back of the group. _"So he does not get distracted with worrying."_

I looked behind us when I heard something and saw the Heart Pirates standing at the opposite edge of the clearing from the Warlord. Law looked surprised about seeing the large man standing in front of Kid. I was surprised to see the giant I had met before standing with his crew.

Tiki jumped back when I wasn't paying attention and I fell off. _"Presea!"_

He raced back to me as I saw a bright light form. His teeth clamped down on my arm and pulled me away as a beam shot out from the Warlord. I stared at the cloud of dust that was slowly clearing away from where Law had been standing moments ago. _D-did he…?_ I relaxed when I saw him walk out of it.

"_I thought you were supposed to hold on tight! Be more careful next time! That light was aimed at the pirate who we were standing near."_ Tiki scolded me lightly, but I could tell he was relieved I was alright.

"Eustass Presea- 1 million beli. Wanted alive," the Warlord droned.

My eyes widened and I looked up at it. It was staring at me across the clearing. Kid's anger was growing swiftly.

"Don't you fucking dare lay a hand on my sister!"

He lashed out at it with his metal arm, giving it some small cuts. Nothing seemed to affect the Warlord. Even Heat's fire breath and Killer's scythes didn't do anything. I pulled my bow off my back and held an arrow ready. I fired it at its head, but it only stuck for a moment. _What is it if my arrows don't hurt it like everyone else?_ I notched another arrow and lit the point on fire. Again, nothing happened.

Tiki growled next to me. _"Let me try to fight it. Move further away so you do not get caught."_

I stepped back and he sprung forward. I watched him claw the Warlord and pierce it with his teeth. Law pierced it with his sword at the same time and I thought I saw some electricity. _What? How is that possible?_ I lost my breath when it raised its arm to point at Kid. "Brother!"

A blue sphere appeared over the clearing and Law was suddenly impaling the Warlord a second time. It fell to the ground, finally dead. I sat heavily on the ground as Tiki slowly walked up to me. _"I am too tired… to change back to the flame…"_ He shrunk to a mouse size and collapsed.

I carefully picked him up and held him to my chest. "It's okay. Thank you for fighting with my brothers."

Tiki's warmth was fainter than usual. _He must be even more exhausted than I thought… I'll have to get him a lot of food when we get back to the ship._ I had left the bag of fire food in my room yesterday. It was a bad idea when I thought about it.

"A Warlord wouldn't be that easy to beat," I heard Law say.

"What?!" Kid yelled.

Law was smirking. "Your anger clouds your judgement, Eustass."

I began walking towards them when I saw another Warlord. _What?! That's not possible!_

"Shit, let's go!" Kid yelled.

I ran the direction that the rest of the crew was going. I stepped on a rock and tripped, falling to the ground. _Oh no._ "Brother!"

He turned around and swore. "Presea!"

Someone picked me up and I looked up at them to see Law carrying me under his arm. He was smirking again. "I'll take her with us."

Kid was about to argue when a beam hit the ground between the two groups. "Run, Brother! I'll be okay!"

"Damn it. If you hurt her, Trafalgar, I'll enjoy tearing you to pieces."

As much as I could tell he hated leaving me behind, he left with the crew. I was taken with Law's crew back to his ship. _Forgive me, Brother. I said I wouldn't let myself get captured again. I guess I really am useless to you._

* * *

Extras:

Ta-da! She finally met Law! I can`t believe it took me this long to get her to Sabaody. And I`m super sorry I was so slow with updating! I finished my finals for university, but I started work right after I got home. Then I`ve had to go to the city a few times because my knees are really bad and I also had to see a dentist since my wisdom teeth will be getting pulled out in a couple months. Ugh. And do you know how difficult it is to split my time between two people? It feels impossible. My brother wants to hang out and play games together while my sister (best friend) wants to hang out and talk. And I always feel like I`m letting either one side or the other down. Anyways, enough of my rambling.

MsWildLuck- I love your comments! You made my day when I read that XD and you were right! She did meet Law!

10th Squad 3rd Seat- I feel bad for Killer… I don`t like hurting him, but I seem to be doing that a lot, aren`t I?

.log- I`m sorry, I didn`t mean to make you cry! I had been working on this chapter for a week or so and I never felt like I was writing fast enough. I hope I can get the next chapter out sooner.

Miss Doflamingo- That was awesome! I didn`t realize that One Piece had a Las Vegas XD I hope my chapters continue to be to your liking!

Girl-luvs-manga- Did this answer your question at all? If not, then you`ll have to wait for the answer to appear! (Sorry :p)

Shuusui11-11Blade- Glad to know you like it! I hope this chapter is to your tastes as well!

BONUS: Since I now have over 60 reviews, is there anything you guys want answered? I can do a little extra thing at the bottom of the next chapter, if you want. Please send me anything you can think of!


	14. Chapter 14: Fighting and Tricks

Law kept a tight grip on me as his crew ran back to their ship. I was shocked when I saw it was a submarine instead of a ship like all of the other pirates had. He stepped onto the deck, but he didn't set me down. I was carried straight inside of the ship and was handed off to someone.

"Shachi, take her to your room and leave her there. Go to the navigation room as soon as you can and get us ready to dive."

"Right!"

Shachi carried me through different hallways before stopping at a door. He opened it and placed me on one of the beds inside. "Uncle Shachi, why are you leaving me here?"

He looked at me. "Captain told me to. I follow every order he gives me. Now, if I really am your uncle," he tweaked my nose, "then you'll listen to me. Stay in here until I come back for you. You'll get lost if you wander around."

I grinned up at him. "Okay. Do you have any food in here that I could have while you're gone?"

He frowned slightly and started digging through a chest. "I should have some somewhere… Ah ha!" He pulled out a small bag and held it high. "Rice cakes!" He held them out for me and I took them. "Alright, now stay here and wait for my return."

He waved to me once before leaving. I opened the little bag and pulled one of the rice cakes out. I had never had one before, but if Shachi liked them, then they couldn't be that bad. I broke off a piece and pulled Tiki out of my pocket. "Tiki, you need to eat something."

His mouse form wavered as he stood up. He gingerly took the food in his paws and slowly ate. I gave him a second piece when he was done and he ate that one quicker. I set the rest of the rice cake down to let him eat it. By the time he was done, his form was back to normal.

"_I will have to thank this new uncle of yours,"_ he crackled. _"It should be possible for me to change without forcing you to take much of my exhaustion."_

I clapped my hands together. "Really? That's great! Tiki, do you think we can try something?"

* * *

Kid was pacing his office angrily, his fist occasionally shooting out to hit something. Killer watched calmly from the side of the room as he leaned against the wall.

"Damn that bastard. If he thinks he can get away with kidnapping my sister, he's got another thing coming," he growled. "The next time I see him, I'll rip his guts out and kill every member of his crew."

Killer pushed away from the wall when he heard crackling. "Kid."

He span around to where the sound was coming from and swore. "Who the hell started a fire in my-"

"…Brother…?"

The voice was faint, but both men could clearly tell who was speaking. The fire became more distinct as eyes and a mouth formed.

"Presea…?"

* * *

I smiled and gasped when I could hear their voices come back to me. "Brother! Killer Brother! You guys are okay!"

I could hear Kid's scoff. "Of course we're fine. What the hell happened to you? Did that bastard do anything to you?"

I shook my head. "Mister Law only brought me back to his submarine. They're getting ready to dive."

"Do you know what Grove you are in?" Killer asked.

"I'm not sure. I couldn't see the numbers while he was carrying me. I'll be fine here, though. Please don't come looking for me yet. I don't want either of you to get caught by the Admiral that's coming."

Kid was growling. "No Admiral could ever beat us."

I could hear Killer quietly reply, "She has a point, Kid."

I giggled quietly to myself. "Brother, promise me you won't come looking for me. Promise me that much."

I heard a sigh. "I promise. And you'd better stay safe there or else I'll be angry with you."

"I promise."

My head was starting to hurt and my vision was focusing right. I heard the door open as everything blacked out.

* * *

"Presea? Presea!"

The fire was crackling constantly. Another voice came through between the crackling. _"There's been- nothing is wrong- She collapsed- too tired-"_

Kid glared at the small flame sitting on his desk. "What the hell is going on?"

"I believe her ember is losing connection because she collapsed. It said she was too tired. We don't need to worry about her. Once she is better, she will get a hold of us again."

Kid growled and turned away. The small fire shrunk until it disappeared.

* * *

Law set the small girl down on a bed in the infirmary. He was frowning. He had walked into his crewmember's room to check on her only to see her collapse. As far as he could tell, nothing was wrong. The only thing that seemed different from when he had brought her back to his sub was the exhaustion.

"What was she doing that used all of her energy?" he mumbled to himself.

A flicker of light drew his attention away. He raised an eyebrow at the flame that had grown to a human's height. _"Do not touch her. She will be fine once she has rested."_

Law smirked at the flame-human. "I thought you had disappeared."

"_Everyone assumes that of me. I had not left her. You had simply failed to notice my presence earlier."_

Its form changed again, this time to a much larger person. From what Law could tell, it looked like it was copying Kid's shape. Law smirked as ideas started to form in his head. The flame-human frowned at him.

"_You cannot do any experiments on me. Your tools will simply go through my fire. I will not partake in it to sate your curiosity."_

Law frowned at it. "I do not take orders, Demon Ember, and it would do you well to remember that. I may not be able to hurt you, but her I can."

* * *

I woke up slowly in a brightly lit room. I sat up carefully, my muscles feeling stiff. "Where am I?"

"You collapsed." I jumped at a voice. Law walked closer to me, his eyes unreadable. "Now, may I ask what happened that caused that?"

I looked away from him. "I-I was talking to my brothers. Tiki helped me. I can summon a second flame in a different area and it acts like a den-den mushi." I knew to explain before he could ask me about it.

"Are they coming this way?"

I shook my head. "I made them promise to not come while an Admiral is here."

"Good." I could hear the smugness in his voice.

_Brother was wrong about Mister Doflamingo being bad… Is he right about Mister Law?_ I watched him write something on clipboard. _I'm not sure… But as long as Uncle Shachi is here, I'll be okay._ He glanced up at me.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Where's Uncle Shachi?"

He continued writing. "He is busy navigating our ship to a more desirable location. Now," he set the clipboard down, "I want to do an examination on you."

"W-what? Why?"

His smirk grew. "I'm a doctor. I do examinations on everyone in my crew."

"But I'm not a part of your crew. Brother never did that for me."

"Does he have a doctor on his ship?" I shook my head. "Then that would be why. Since you are on my sub, you will follow my rules." He stood up and walked closer to me. "Just do as I tell you."

He checked my pulse and he looked inside my mouth first. Then he pushed lightly on some of my muscles in my arms and stomach. I think he was looking for bruises or fractured bones.

"I'm not injured," I told him. "I was learning to be a doctor at my home and my brothers take care of me."

My last comment surprised him. "You must be well-versed in science, then. How old are you, Miss Presea?"

"I'm seventeen, not seven like everyone else seems to think."

He seemed to think about something. "Have you always been this small?"

"Yes. I hardly grew after my brothers left our island."

"Hn. I am going to run a test to check something." He pulled a needle out a drawer and walked back up to me. "All I require is a small amount of blood."

I nodded and let him go ahead. Needles didn't bother me other than the point of pain of when it first stabs me. I winced slightly, but tried to keep myself from reacting. Kid could do it without showing pain, so that meant I could, too.

Law pulled the needle out of my arm and walked away. "You may leave now."

I hopped off the bed and carefully left the room. I still felt a little weak, but I knew I would be fine as long as I didn't use my powers much. Now that I was free from the captain, I had another problem to deal with.

"Where am I?"

I was lost inside of a submarine that I had never entered before. Did the captain realize this or was he too engrossed in his work? I slowly walked down one hallway. I looked around at every four-way, but no one was ever around. I turned at some point to try a different route.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

I was hoping someone would answer me by now. I stopped when I saw something big and orange moving away from me. It didn't look like a person, but if it was moving, that meant there would be people around. I ran after it.

I stopped when I reached the back of it and saw ears twitch on the top. It turned around and looked down at me. I gasped and gave it a hug. "Hi, Teddy!"

The polar bear looked around worriedly. I slowly pulled away from him and looked sadly up at it.

"I'm sorry… Did I upset you?"

The bear shook his head. "I- um, sorry…" He hung his head in depression.

I patted his arm. "It's alright. Maybe you can help me!"

He perked up when I said that. "Okay. But you have to listen to my orders because I've been here longer than you."

I giggled. "Okay, Teddy."

He pulled me around the sub when I told him I was lost. He decided he was going to show me where everything was.

"And this one is a bedroom. It belongs to Penguin, Shachi, and me."

"This is Uncle Shachi's room?" I was surprised that I wasn't further away from it. "Is he still moving us?"

The bear shook his head. "He finished a few minutes ago. I think he and Penguin went to the training room. Would you like to see it?"

I nodded quickly. I had wanted to learn how to fight before I was captured by the Heart Pirates. I followed the polar bear down a few more hallways before we reached the training room. I could hear sounds echoing outside of it before the door was opened.

"Wow…"

It was amazing. The room was much bigger than I thought it would be and it was so clean. The floor was covered in an off-white mat and the walls were wooden. Another loud sound distracted me from the room's looks. Shachi had attacked the other man in the room. He had a hat the said "Penguin" on it. _That must be the person who shares a room with Uncle Shachi._ He attacked next, forcing Shachi to block.

"Hey, Presea!" Shachi had stopped to wave. Penguin took advantage of his distraction and punched him in the face. "Oof! Oi! What was that for?"

Penguin laughed at him. "You weren't paying attention!"

Shachi pulled his leg out from under him, making the other man fall. They started fighting again and the polar bear walked up to them and smacked them both in the heads. They stopped and yelled at him, making his head drop in depression.

"Aw, don't yell at Teddy. He helped me find you guys."

"Teddy? You mean Bepo?"

Shachi stood up and brushed himself off. "Sorry. I thought you were still in our room."

"Mister Law took me to the infirmary."

"What?! Are you okay? What happened?"

I laughed at how silly Shachi was being. "I was just tired. He wanted to examine me. He said it was because he always does it for the crewmembers."

"Yeah, I forgot that Captain always does that right away. I guess I didn't think he would do that with his rival's sister though," Penguin laughed.

That's true. _Why did he do that when I'm technically a rival? Was it just because I'm on his submarine or is it something else?_ I looked back at Penguin when his head hit the ground. Shachi was glaring at him.

"Hey! Don't make her sound like an enemy!"

They would have started fighting again if it wasn't for Bepo. He grabbed the back of their suits and held them off the ground. It was funny to watch them swing their fists at each other when they clearly would not reach. I blinked when I remembered where we were.

"Uncle Shachi," he stopped moving when he heard me, "why are you guys fighting?"

They looked at each other and Penguin started laughing. "This isn't fighting, this is training."

I was confused. Was fighting someone not always fighting? _Does that mean my brothers don't really fight? So they train instead?_ It didn't make much sense to me. I thought that attacking someone was bad, but perhaps there could be more than one answer to everything.

I jumped when the door slammed open. A man stomped in, his red face standing out from his white hair.

"Which one of you assholes did this?" he yelled.

It was easy to tell that Shachi and Penguin were trying hard not to laugh. I could hear snickers pass through their hands and the angry man was not happy with them.

"W-whoa, what happened to your hair, Garrett?" Shachi asked between laughing.

"Y-yeah? What happened to you, Gare?"

His face was steadily growing redder. "You know _exactly_ what happened!" he roared.

He started attacking the other two men, kicking and punching. Each time he kicked, Penguin and Shachi jumped over his leg. Each time he punched, they dodged to the side. Garrett caught on eventually and kicked after he faked a punch.

I laughed at the three arguing men. They stop to look at me. "You guys are silly."

Garrett's face turned red again, but Penguin's also did the same. "Oh yeah!" Penguin placed his foot on the side of Shachi's head against the floor. "You never did tell me what you were doing with this girl. I never thought you were a pedophile."

"Hey! I'm no pedophile!" he yelled.

"Uncle Shachi isn't like that. Brother killed the one that got me before."

Silence filled the room after my words. "That's scary, you know that?" Penguin sweat dropped.

_Did I say something wrong?_ I frowned and Shachi placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I think he's just trying to say it was scary that you met one. Come on, let's go back to my room. I bet you're tired of watching us fight."

* * *

"How interesting…"

Law had been examining the sample of blood he had taken from the girl for quite some time. He leaned back in his chair and thought about what he had found.

"So dwarfism is ruled out, though I could tell that much by her physical make-up. Perhaps… since she has the body of a girl about to reach adolescence… Hn." His smirk grew. "I suppose I have an experiment to run." He sighed once. "Unfortunately, it will have to wait until after the war. There is too much to do to get ready for that."

* * *

BONUS

The Eustass Family:

As requested by .log

* * *

A woman sighed, her long white hair falling in front of her face. She carefully touched her round belly. "I wonder what he is doing today."

Her husband had left her alone at their mansion again. He was supposed to be working on a secret project for the Government and he wasn't allowed to tell her anything. However, from what she could tell from his work, it was something the Government didn't want the public to know.

He had left a few weeks ago and she was still awaiting his return. After all, she was getting close to when her baby was due.

Her eyes grew sad when she thought about that. Her husband hadn't wanted a child yet, so this one was an accident in his eyes. She loved it more than she loved herself. She was so happy to have a child.

She gasped when her muscles clenched. She grabbed the tiny snail that sat next to her and dialed a number. "Ella, it's time."

* * *

Her baby was growing quickly. He was a few months old now and could walk around. Ella was surprised at how quickly he grew, but the woman didn't think anything of it.

"Come here, baby. Come to Momma."

He slowly walked over to her so she could pick him up. She held him to her chest.

"I bet you miss Daddy. He hasn't been home in five months now. I wonder when he'll get another break…"

Her child was always quiet and calm with her. The moment her husband entered the room, he became angry and violent. Perhaps he could tell that his father didn't want him. It made the woman sad. She wanted to have a happy family, but it didn't seem possible anymore.

* * *

The young boy stood at attention with a scowl on his face. His father was lecturing him yet again on how to fight.

"And you keep your fists up! If even a single punch gets through, then you are a horrible fighter! Do you understand, Kid?" he bellowed.

Kid bit back his anger and nodded stiffly. The last time he gave an angry retort he had been hit upside the head. He was careful with how frustrated his father got with him now. He didn't care before, but now was more important.

His mother was pregnant again.

His parents would always fight after his father got frustrated with him before she found out. Kid wouldn't tell anyone, but he was worried about his unborn sibling. There were nights where he had gone to bed with bruises forming on his arms or without food. He hated his life in this house, but he wouldn't leave his mother.

His father was never around, but now that the child was going to be born soon, he had taken time off. Kid kept his distance though. He would keep his distance until his sibling came and hopefully things would get better.

* * *

Her eyes were so bright. Kid was immediately caught in how happy she was and how often she laughed. She grew slowly, far slower than he had when he was younger. She was still tiny and hadn't learned how to walk. She would crawl any distance to reach the person she wanted. And more often than not, it was Kid.

She absolutely adored Kid. There had been a couple of functions that their father had forced them all to go to and his sister would cry until she was placed in his arms. He may have been tired by the end of the night, but he had the satisfaction of being to put her to bed. She was the one thing that made him happy to stay at the horrible place he called home.

* * *

Kid was hiding quietly in his sister's room. There were loud banging noises as Marines slammed their fists on the door. He could hear them yelling at his father. He gathered Presea up in his arms and carefully opened the window. He stepped onto the roof and sidled along until he reached the edge. He tied the blanket he had grabbed around himself for a sling. He set his sister inside with her small bear.

He gripped the vines that grew on the house and climbed down. He froze when he heard gunshots. His mother's voice screamed once before another shot went off and she fell silent. Kid ran into the forest as fast as he could. Behind him, the house flickered with an orange light. He watched as it burned to the ground.

* * *

I finally finished! This one is a little shorter than usual, but the next chapter has to be by itself. I didn't want to split it up since it is another chapter I've been waiting to write.

And a really big thanks to EvilPixie102 for messaging me about updating. I just hit the two week mark I said I would!

Shuusui11-11Blade- I'm so glad you like my story that much! It makes me feel so good to know that my writing is appreciated! And thank you for the bandaids. I think they helped!

Miss Doflamingo- That's very true! And I love how excited you are about a new chapter! It's so awesome! And I'll try to start updating faster :p

.log- Don't worry, she'll be taught! It may take a little while, but it will happen! Did the final scene with Law help answer your question?

10th Squad 3rd Seat- I think you`re missing a few words. I get slightly confused sometimes. And Kid is so protective of Presea, I doubt he would want her to be around him even if she did like him!

Girl-luvs-manga- And here you are! I hope this chapter is to your liking!

MsWildLuck- Yay! Keep doing the pose! It makes y day every time!

KittyCatt1036- On Law, Presea would be about up to his ribs. It would be about the same as with Killer. I hope I`m not confusing you.

Hex223- Thank you! I`ll try be faster next time!

hensonmakenzie- I`m so happy you like my story! I hope you continue to review!

YamamotoFan- Yay! Now you found this story! I`m so happy that you keep following me! I hope you continue to like my stories!


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